The ACB E-Forum Volume LIX February 2021 No. 8 Published by the American Council of the Blind ***** ** Be A Part of ACB The American Council of the Blind (TM) is a membership organization made up of more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates. To join, contact the national office at 1-800-424-8666. ** Contribute to Our Work Those much-needed contributions, which are tax-deductible, can be sent to Attn: Treasurer, ACB, 6200 Shingle Creek Pkwy., Suite 155, Brooklyn Center, MN 55430. If you wish to remember a relative or friend, the national office has printed cards available for this purpose. Consider including a gift to ACB in your Last Will and Testament. If your wishes are complex, call the national office. To make a contribution to ACB by the Combined Federal Campaign, use this number: 11155. ** Check in with ACB For the latest in legislative and governmental news, call the “Washington Connection” 24/7 at 1-800-424-8666, or read it online. Listen to ACB Reports by downloading the MP3 file from www.acb.org, or call (518) 906-1820 and choose option 8. Tune in to ACB Radio at www.acbradio.org or by calling (518) 906-1820. Learn more about us at www.acb.org. Follow us on Twitter at @acbnational, or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AmericanCounciloftheBlindOfficial. © 2021 American Council of the Blind Eric Bridges, Executive Director Sharon Lovering, Editor 1703 N. Beauregard St., Suite 420, Alexandria, VA 22311 ***** Table of Contents President’s Message: Audio Description and ACB Celebrate Good Times, by Dan Spoone A Final Piece of Information from the 2020 Convention, by Janet Dickelman Join Us on a New Leadership Journey: Apply to Become a 2021 Recipient of the DKM First-Timers Award, by Kenneth Semien Sr. In Memoriam: James J. Megivern, July 2, 1931-December 16, 2020 We’re Making a Place for Charlie Crawford on ACB’s Wall of Angels, by Penny Reeder ACB’s Audio Description Project: What We’ve Accomplished, by Joel Snyder All about the Audio Description Project Website, by Fred Brack Audio Description: What It Means to Me, by Erika Wolf Paradigm Shift: Audio Description Your Way, by Carl Richardson Audio Description Snobbery, by Roy Samuelson Commercials with Audio Description: It’s About Time People Who Are Blind Are Considered within the Advertising Dollar, by Kim Charlson Here and There, edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins Tune In to God’s Audio Description, by Chaplain Timothy Burdick High Tech Swap Shop ACB Officers ACB Board of Directors ACB Board of Publications Accessing Your ACB Braille and E-Forums ** Are You Moving? Do You Want to Change Your Subscription? Contact Sharon Lovering in the ACB national office, 1-800-424-8666, or via e-mail, slovering@acb.org. Give her the information, and she’ll make the changes for you. * Keep up with the most important ACB news and announcements without any other chatter. Subscribe to the ACB Announce listserv. Send a blank email to announce-subscribe@acblists.org, or visit www.acblists.org/mailman/listinfo/announce and type your email address and name where indicated. * ACB Radio Community is home to both live and pre-recorded content from ACB-sponsored community events. Come share, learn and grow with us at http://acbradio.org/community. * There are now two versions of ACB Radio Mainstream — Mainstream East (all times Eastern) and Mainstream West (all times Pacific). Check them out at http://acbradio.org/mainstream. ***** President’s Message: Audio Description and ACB Celebrate Good Times by Dan Spoone We are so proud of the accomplishments of the Audio Description Project (ADP) over the past decade. We have come so far. Remember those days of VHS tapes with audio description (AD) that were produced by WGBH (public broadcast station out of Boston)? You would receive two VHS movies from your library, and you were so excited. Perhaps you could afford to purchase your own copy for $40 to $60 for that very special movie. We purchased a copy of “Pretty Woman” one Christmas for Leslie. It was her favorite movie. “Pretty Woman” had been released several years earlier at the theaters and we finally got a copy with audio description from WGBH. Leslie was so happy. We must have watched it every night for a week straight. To this day, every time I see or hear a reference to a snail, I remember the scene in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts is having the formal dinner and that snail goes flying across the table. “Slippery little suckers,” the businessman observes with a smile. Audio description (AD) has come so far and ACB is the leading voice of the blind consumer for this amazing journey. ACB created the Audio Description Project (ADP) in 2008 with founding director Joel Snyder. ACB was also the leading consumer group at the table through the creation and passage of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), which mandated AD on the four broadcast channels (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) and the top five cable channels with at least 50 hours a quarter of new audio-described content. ACB advocated for audio description in the movie theaters. Now, the Department of Justice (DOJ) requires that all digital movie theaters must have AD equipment. Last year all but one of the Oscar-nominated movies for Best Picture offered audio description. ACB is working with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to mandate that all Best Picture nominations provide AD as a prerequisite for consideration in this category. In addition, ACB members from across the country have worked tirelessly in their communities to promote AD at their local museums and performing arts centers. The landscape is quickly changing for the delivery of new AD content, and ACB has worked with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, HBO Max and other streaming services to ensure that their original programming will offer audio description and their websites will be fully accessible. The ACB Audio Description website (acb.org/adp) lists over 4,500 titles with AD and is considered the pre-eminent sight for audio description information. Audio description has enriched our lives in so many ways. It makes us feel like integrated members of society. My personal story of AD advocacy is a very small piece of the large AD pie. Leslie and I really enjoy going to the movies in the winter. We always try to see the movies nominated for Best Picture. You all know the dance. You arrive at the movie theater and purchase your tickets. Then it’s off to customer service to pick up your receiver and headset. We politely remind them that we are blind and need the receiver to be set on audio description for the visually impaired. We emphasize the setting for the blind. They ensure us that everything is set up OK, and we head on to the theater and pray the audio description comes on when the movie starts. Our prayers are answered about 50 percent of the time. The rest of the time we are scrambling to fix the problem in a crowded theater without disturbing the other patrons. Can any of you relate to this experience? Several years ago, Dan Dillon connected me with the Vice President of Human Resources at Regal Entertainment, Randy Smith. Randy and I had an excellent discussion on the problem of not knowing if your AD equipment worked until the feature film began. We asked him if they had ever considered adding AD to their Regal Entertainment trailer that plays before the movie previews. He said that they were currently looking to add captioning for the deaf community to the Regal trailer and he would ask the engineers about adding audio description as well. We thanked him for his time and told him how much AD had changed our enjoyment of the movies. The next month Leslie and I were at our neighborhood Regal theater. We did the usual dance of acquiring our receivers and heading to the theater. We had the normal anxiety. We were both hoping the AD would work. The crowd was pouring in on a busy Friday night. Our fingers were crossed. Please, please work! The Regal trailer began to play before the previews, and the popcorn and Coke started talking! Leslie, do you hear what I’m hearing? Yes, there was AD on the Regal trailer. Before I fully realized it, I stood up in a crowded theater and shouted, “The popcorn is talking.” It brought a silence to the theater, but Leslie and I were both cheering. Sometimes we need to celebrate the small victories. This month, let’s take time to celebrate the very large victory of the work the American Council of the Blind has done to bring audio description to all of us. Thank you, ACB, for enriching our lives through our advocacy efforts with audio description. Enjoy this issue of the E-Forum dedicated to audio description and be proud of our accomplishments and continue to dream of our future goal of 100 percent AD for all opportunities at performing arts centers, museums, parks, conference presentations, video presentations and movie theaters. It’s our civil right! ***** A Final Piece of Information from the 2020 Convention by Janet Dickelman Would you like to receive podcasts from last year’s convention? Thanks to the extremely hard work of Rick Morin and ACB Radio, the podcasts from the 2020 convention are available on NLS cartridge and also for the first time on a thumb drive or SD card. The cost is just $45 for all general sessions and ACB evening programming, affiliate, committee and business partner sessions plus exhibitors and many of our audio-described tours. There are 235 files totaling 191 hours of content. If you would like to purchase a cartridge, thumb drive or SD card, please call the Minneapolis office at (612) 332-3242. Now on to this year’s conference and convention! Convention dates are Friday, July 16 through Friday, July 23rd. Events are still in the scheduling stage as I write this. I do know that opening general session will be Sunday evening, July 18th, with daily sessions Monday through Friday. The auction will be on Tuesday, July 20 and the banquet on Thursday, July 22nd. There will be 5 concurrent ACB Radio streams available for special-interest affiliates, committees and our business partners to stream their events. This will be in addition to our audio-described tours and exhibits channels. By registering, you will receive some great perks! Convention registration will open on May 28th. On the registration form you can become an individual sponsor, purchase a Braille Forum raffle ticket and purchase your 2021 T-shirt or pin. As a convention registrant, you will also be eligible for door prizes! Names will only be pulled from convention registrants. If your name is announced, you automatically win; you don’t have to call in to claim your prize. With your convention registration, you will receive Zoom links for sessions and can subscribe to the convention newspaper. When you register, you will be provided with a bidder number for the auction. You can register online or via telephone. We are closing registration on June 28th. This will allow ample time for anyone requesting the convention program in large print or braille to receive the program prior to the start of convention. Convention registration will reopen in July for last-minute registrations. The cost of registration is $25 for ACB members. Non-ACB members will be charged $40. If you are not a member, you can join as a member at large for $10. If you wait to register in July, the registration fees will be $35 for ACB members. Reminder, the braille programs will be sent via UPS. If your mailing address is a post office box, we will need a secondary address to deliver your program. ** Continuing Education Units Once again this year, we will be offering continuing education units, and for the first time we hope to offer professional development hours. Please read the article by Carla Ruschival in next month’s issue with all the details. ** Staying in Touch The conference and convention announce list will be filled with information. To subscribe to the list, send a blank e-mail to acbconvention-subscribe@acblists.org. If you received updates for the 2020 convention, you do not need to subscribe to the list. ** Convention Contacts 2021 exhibit information: Michael Smitherman, (601) 331-7740, amduo@bellsouth.net 2021 advertising and sponsorships: Anthony Stephens, (202) 559-2045, astephens@acb.org For any other convention-related questions, please contact Janet Dickelman, convention chair, (651) 428-5059 or via e-mail, janet.dickelman@gmail.com. ***** Join Us on a New Leadership Journey: Apply to Become a 2021 Recipient of the DKM First-Timers Award by Kenneth Semien Sr., Durward K. McDaniel Fund Committee Chair Come along with us on a new leadership journey as we take things higher in 2021! We’re making exciting plans to join in solidarity to celebrate together throughout the 60th annual ACB conference and convention in a virtual setting. If you are an ACB member who has never attended an in-person ACB convention and you meet the criteria below, we invite you to elevate your commitment and participate in ACB’s primary leadership development program. You have the opportunity to attend virtually in 2021 and meet us in person at the ACB conference and convention in Omaha in 2022. Continue reading to get the scoop on how to apply to be considered. To be eligible for consideration, each applicant must meet specific requirements, which include being age 18 or older; blind or visually impaired; an ACB member in good standing (current on membership dues), and never have attended a previous in-person ACB national conference and convention. Another step of eligibility for applicants will be the expectation of undergoing a 30-minute interview with a team of DKM committee members during mid-April. In addition, two letters must be submitted for each applicant — a letter of application from the interested member and a letter of recommendation from a state or special-interest affiliate president. Applicants are encouraged to be sure that they meet the award criteria before requesting that their affiliate president write and submit a letter of recommendation on their behalf. Your letter of application should begin with your complete name, physical address, email address containing the applicant’s name, along with a home and cell number; then introduce yourself to the committee and include reasons for applying for the award, a brief summary of education and experience related to your community service, contributions to the respective affiliate and/or chapter, and the significance of the First-Timers award to your personal or career development. The letter of recommendation should include the applicant’s leadership contributions and potential. During 2021, the DKM First-Timers program and ACB will honor recipients by funding the general registration fee, leadership institute, reception, banquet tickets and other activities determined by the committee and ACB’s board of directors. Optional tours and other fun activities are not covered by the program. The responsibilities of each recipient include but are not limited to attending the full week of conference and convention activities from Friday, July 16 through Friday, July 23; participating in daily general sessions and the Keys to the Convention seminar, along with special-interest and committee seminars, while interacting with ACB leaders and fellow members. The application and supporting letter should be submitted separately (the applicant submits his/her letter of application and the affiliate president submits her/his letter of recommendation) to Kelly Gasque, kgasque@acb.org, and must be received in the ACB national office no later than April 5th. Incomplete applications will not be considered. The DKM Committee will select the 2021 First-Timers during the latter part of April. Eligible applicants will be notified shortly thereafter. The selection process will conclude with two recipients being awarded as DKM First-Timers — one from east and one from west of the Mississippi River. The DKM Committee reserves the right to recognize two recipients from the east or west if there are no qualified applicants from one of the specified areas. All questions should be sent to DKM Chair Kenneth Semien Sr., semien.k@att.net, or dial (409) 866-5838. We look forward to offering support to every applicant in an effort to ensure a rewarding experience. ***** In Memoriam: James J. Megivern July 2, 1931 - December 16, 2020 Reprinted from “The Wilmington Star-News,” Dec. 24, 2020. Author, professor, and social justice activist James J. Megivern died in Palm Harbor, Fla. on Dec. 16, 2020, at the age of 89. Born in Johnson City, N.Y. in 1931, he entered the Roman Catholic Seminary at 14. Ordained in 1959, he continued his studies in Fribourg, Switzerland, earning a doctorate in theology. He also earned an S.S.L. from the Pontifical Biblical Institute of the Gregorian University in Rome. He taught at St. John’s University in New York until he left the priesthood in 1968. A position in the Philosophy and Religion Department at UNCW brought him to Wilmington, N.C., where he met his wife Marjorie, a journalist at the Wilmington Star-News. Megivern enjoyed a long and prominent career as a professor at UNCW, serving as chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion for 17 years. He also lectured at various local churches, was a book author, and a columnist of “The World of Religion,” for the Star-News. A leading presence on the UNCW campus, Jim played a huge role in building the Department of Philosophy and Religion, and he left an indelible mark on the larger community. As one colleague remembered him during a 2008 UNCW tribute, “The only time an Irishman is truly happy is when he is in a fight.” Although he was a gentle and peaceful man, Jim loved always being out front, fighting for just causes, especially involving social justice issues. He was an important leader in race relations in the Wilmington community, and was co-chair, with Bertha Todd, of the 1898 Foundation in the inaugural years of 1997-99, when the story of the 1898 massacre was first brought before the public and a year-long, city-wide effort at racial reconciliation was carried out. His writing also reflected those concerns: in 1997 he published “The Death Penalty: An Historical and Theological Survey” which is considered the seminal work on the history of the death penalty in Western Christianity. He lectured and worked actively in the anti-death penalty movement. In 2003, he co-authored with his wife Marjorie, “People of Vision: A History of the American Council of the Blind,” a definitive account of the history of the formation of the American Council of the Blind. Jim was predeceased by his wife Marjorie Smith Megivern, his parents, John and Katherine Megivern, two brothers, John and Francis Megivern and his sister, Elizabeth Riley. He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law Paul and Lynn Megivern of Casselberry, Fla., his sister Kathleen Megivern and her husband James Mecklenburger of Clearwater, Fla., his four stepsons and their spouses, Steven (Nikki) Smith, Daniel (Lorri) Smith, Stuart (Sara) Smith and Bruce (Barbara) Smith, and numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Additionally, Jim’s legacy includes scores of college students who were enlightened by his words and moved by his example. You may leave condolences for the family at https://www.beacondirectcremation.com/obituary/james-joseph-megivern/. ***** We’re Making a Place for Charlie Crawford on ACB’s Wall of Angels by Penny Reeder If Charlie Crawford knows that we are honoring him on ACB’s Angel Wall, and calling him one of ACB’s angels, he is probably shaking his head and looking at us askance. “Me?” he might say. “You should think about lots of other leaders instead of me.” Then he would begin naming leaders who are already posted on that and other memorial walls, people like Marlaina Lieberg, LeRoy Saunders, Durward McDaniel, and Justin Dart. He knew them all, he would tell us, and called each of them friend. “They were the angels,” he would say. “Not me, I’m just a regular guy.” We would have to disagree. Charlie Crawford was the best advocate of anyone we’ve ever known. It was Charlie who taught most of us how to advocate effectively for our civil rights as people who are blind. It was Charlie who insisted that rehabilitation agencies are not honoring the people they purport to serve unless they make their consumers’ needs, goals and dreams a guiding priority. Charlie knew that the concept of equality is meaningless unless every single human being is treated fairly. He taught us these important principles, and he taught us how to advocate on behalf of every person with a disability, within ACB, at the local, state, and national levels of government, and with legislators and administrators. He taught us by example, and he insisted on teaching all of us who need to know how to advocate successfully for our rights as clients of rehabilitation, or students in public schools or universities, as pedestrians who just want to walk through the built environment safely and with dignity, as guide dog users, theater-goers, travelers on trains and buses and airplanes and paratransit vehicles, and people who like to go to movies and watch TV, to understand that we have rights and how to advocate for them. Remember ACB’s Pedestrian Safety Handbook, editions I and II? It was Charlie who saw their publication come to fruition. ACB members and non-members alike can still turn to these manuals to learn how to advocate successfully for accessible pedestrian signals and tactile markings on train platforms to save themselves from injury and death. Remember the principles of effective rehabilitation? Even if you don’t remember every one as enumerated so often by Charlie, or if you’re new to ACB and haven’t heard Charlie’s educational outreach on the topic of consumer choice and consumer-centered vocational rehabilitation, if you’re a client of a state rehab agency, you can thank Charlie for his advocacy with the agencies who were making vocational rehabilitation policy during the 1980s and ‘90s for any success you are having getting the services you need – and choose! If you were a consumer of blindness services who lived in Massachusetts during the years when Charlie served as commissioner, you are doubtless aware that it was in the Bay State where Charlie first began thinking about these important consumer rights of self-determination and began relying on those concepts when making agency policy. Our first successes persuading the FCC that making the visual on movie screens and televisions accessible to people who are blind with audio description came during Charlie’s years of service as ACB’s executive director, and Charlie was so enthusiastic about audio description when it first arrived on our television screens that he was quite likely the nation’s oldest and most exuberant fan of “Clifford, The Big Red Dog,” one of the first children’s programs to be audio-described. Charlie was a people person. We never, ever heard him say an unkind word to anyone. He connected with everyone he met, often with gentle humor, and always with empathy and understanding. Charlie Crawford made friends with people everywhere he ever lived, and after the Internet allowed us to meet and know and discuss things with people all over the world, his circle of friends and admirers grew to enormity! Charlie and several young friends in Massachusetts founded the Blind Leadership Club in 1971, and he served as its first president. That club became the Bay State affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. Bay State is co-sponsoring Charlie Crawford’s spot on ACB’s Angel Wall, and so is the National Capital Area Chapter of the ACB of Maryland state affiliate, for it was when Charlie and Susan moved from Massachusetts to Silver Spring, Md., in the mid-1990s that NCAC regenerated into the vibrant and supportive advocacy organization that it is today. After he directed the Client Assistance Program at the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, Governor Michael Dukakis appointed Charlie the agency’s commissioner in 1984. He served the community in that position until he left to become executive director of ACB in 1998. After leaving ACB, he served briefly as director of blindness services at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. He was just beginning to plan how to apply that philosophy of self- determination at the VA when he experienced a devastating aneurysm and stroke which required all of his self-determination and strength for recovery. Recover he did, and he spent the last 16 years continuing to make a positive difference in the lives of people with disabilities living in the Washington, D.C. area – and beyond – serving on the board of the Equal Rights Center in Washington, D.C., and on the Montgomery County, Md. Commission on People with Disabilities. Charlie represented all Marylanders with disabilities when he advocated in front of the state legislature for laws which require health care professionals to include people with disabilities in decisions which affect their personal care. He trained paratransit drivers to treat riders on Metro Access vehicles with the dignity and respect everyone deserves, and in the last months of his life, he was working with the local Vision Zero organization to assure that the rights of pedestrians with disabilities are accorded as much attention as the rights of drivers and people who ride scooters and bicycles. If you, as a person with a disability, or an organization who represents people with disabilities or others who struggle to receive the civil rights to which they are entitled, found yourself in need of effective advocacy, you could count on Charlie Crawford to testify, or spend hours in meetings, or write letters, or policy directives, or simply to be present as a confidant, an advisor, or a friend. An innovator, Charlie created numerous opportunities for people with blindness or other disabilities to enjoy fulfilling lives within their families and communities. In Massachusetts, he partnered with the Boston Public Schools to establish an after-school recreation program for blind students who welcomed friends without disabilities. Before the days of the Internet, he created an accessible computer bulletin board service to encourage blind students and adults to develop computer skills by playing games. He created several computer programs, including the Talking Checkbook, and enjoyed collaborating with others to make improvements. He gave every program he developed away, free of charge. Charlie contributed to so many initiatives benefiting those with and without disabilities. He was an ardent advocate for accessible communication technology, accessible voting, pedestrian safety, audio description on screens and in theaters, and accessible transportation. He testified before Congress in support of Medicare’s coverage of medical treatment for macular degeneration, to prevent blindness. Over the years, he served on many boards, including the Council of State Agencies for Vocational Rehabilitation, National Council of State Agencies for the Blind, the Maryland Rehabilitation Council, and Guide Dog Users, Inc., where he also served as Director of Advocacy. He received many awards, including the Morris Frank Award from the Seeing Eye, and the George Card Award from ACB. Charlie is survived by Susan Crawford, his beloved wife of 34 years, stepson Steve Lehotsky, daughter-in-law Caitlin Talmadge, grandchildren Jack and Caroline, brothers and sisters-in-law, cousins, and nieces and nephews. He has friends near and far. We welcome other members of our ACB family to support our plan to honor Charlie as an ACB angel. To add your contributions to those of Guide Dog Users, Inc., the Bay State Council of the Blind, and the National Capital Chapter of the ACB of Maryland, contact ACB’s financial office in Minneapolis at (612) 332-3242. Nancy Marks-Becker will be pleased to add your contribution to the tally. If you get voicemail, please leave a message with your name and a phone number where you can be reached. Thank you. ***** ACB’s Audio Description Project: What We’ve Accomplished by Joel Snyder, PhD, Director, ADP Eleven years ago, none of us would have imagined that the American Council of the Blind’s Audio Description Project (ADP) could have accomplished so much in support of the ADP’s purpose: to boost levels of description activity and disseminate information on that work throughout the nation. Its major goal is to sponsor a broad range of activities designed to build awareness of audio description (AD) among the general public as well as its principal users, people who are blind or have low vision. By any measure, I think we’ve met that goal and gone beyond! A recap of our activity follows but first I want to acknowledge some individuals who have done so much to make the ADP a success: Chris Gray, a past president of ACB, was especially welcoming of the idea for the ADP when it was proposed in 2009; Mitch Pomerantz continued that support and appointed Kim Charlson as the first chair of our steering committee — Kim, a long-time advocate for AD, is now the ACB’s immediate past president. Succeeding Kim as the chair of our steering committee was Dan Spoone — he established our subcommittee structure. That structure, along with Dan’s superb organizational savvy, has allowed us to do so much. Dan, of course, is now ACB’s president and Kim, along with Carl Richardson, co-chair the ADP steering committee. And, of course, Fred Brack, our top-notch webmaster — he has built our website into the go-to repository of information on all things AD. Here’s a summary of our work since the founding of the ADP in 2009: - The ADP Conferences: The July 2020 virtual gathering was our sixth full gathering of AD consumers, producers, advocates and many other supporters; we hold this conference every other year in conjunction with ACB’s annual conference and convention. We have hosted speakers and participants from two dozen countries over the years; and in our “off” years, we present a half-day of activities and sessions focused on areas of particular interest to AD consumers. - The Audio Description Institutes/Describer Training: We have presented 17 of these sessions, the world’s foremost AD training programs — we do them twice a year. We missed our summer session in 2020 due to the COVID crisis, but our 18th Institute will be held virtually in March 2021. In addition, we worked with the Italy-based ADLAB PRO as a part of its evaluation committee, examining training programs for audio describers. In 2010, we produced a “guideline of guidelines” — a collection of AD best practices noted in AD guidelines produced around the world, and it’s available on our website, as is the first published paper on audio description: Gregory Frazier’s 1977 seminal “An All-Audio Narration of the Teleplay ‘The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.’” In 2021, we will lead a Microsoft-funded effort to develop an on-line Audio Description Certificate course. - The Audio Description Achievement Awards: Each year, we recognize leaders — individuals and organizations — who exemplify excellence in audio description activity. Awards are given for achievement in Performing Arts, Media, Museums/Visual Art/Visitor Centers, International, the Dr. Margaret R. Pfanstiehl Memorial Achievement Award in Audio Description-Research and Development, and the Barry Levine Memorial Award for Career Achievement in Audio Description, as well as Special Recognition awards. - The ADP Website — www.acb.org/adp: In addition to the international reach of our website, we have thousands of “Likes” on the ADP Facebook page and we continue to broaden the ADP reach on Twitter and via our own email-based discussion group. We provide weekly updates on audio-described DVDs and Blu-ray discs and created a master list of over 4,600 titles now available on streaming platforms. We provide a real-time, comprehensive listing of broadcast television programs with audio description and lists of theaters and museums with audio description in a state-by-state list. Each week we feature articles on all the varied aspects of audio description in this country and abroad. We continue to earn income from Amazon.com fees associated with the purchase of DVDs on the ADP website — since 2009 and the inception of the ADP we’ve earned well over $10,000. - The “BADIE” contest: BADIE is an acronym for the Benefits of Audio Description in Education. Each year we welcome entries to this contest in the form of reviews of described videos written by blind kids, ages 7 to 21. We honor all entrants with brailled certificates, and give the top entrants in four age-based categories special prizes. The teachers of our first-place awardees also receive recognition. All of this is done in close coordination with the Described and Captioned Media Program. - “The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description”: In 2014, ACB published my book, the first comprehensive book on audio description. It has since been made available in screen-reader accessible formats, in braille and in two audio book versions by the Library of Congress, in Portuguese, Polish, and Russian — with a Spanish translation to be published in conjunction with the World Blind Union later in 2021. Greek and Chinese versions are planned for 2022 and a second edition will be released late in 2022. - Work with the FCC/Advocacy: • The ACB and the ADP have been principal advocates for AD before Congress, the FCC and the U.S. Access Board. We were active in establishing the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act in 2010 and we continue to work toward an increase in AD on broadcast and cable television. A members of the FCC/Disability Advisory Committee Video Programing subcommittee, we have stressed the need to determine the substance of visual information included with emergency announcements and how it might be described most effectively, emphasized the need for digitized information regarding broadcasts with AD, and lobbied for the establishment of multiple SAP channels as well as increases in the amount of broadcast television programming that must be described. • The ADP Director continues to spread the word about the good work of the ADP, speak on audio description, and train describers throughout the United States and around the world; he produces monthly reports on ADP activity; annual reports presented at the conference and convention and mid-year meetings delivered verbally and in writing; has made presentations on AD and the ADP at over a dozen ACB state affiliate meetings; and has been interviewed regarding AD and the ADP on dozens of radio programs. In 2019, the ADP Director was appointed a Fulbright Scholar and conducted three weeks of AD training in Athens. • We continue to work with the 9-11 Memorial and Museum regarding concerns with the museum’s accessibility efforts. • We continue to work with The Broadway League regarding the possibility of AD scripts for professional touring productions, including the possibility of shows hiring a “cast” member to provide AD and tour with shows. • We issued performing arts and museum questionnaires to ACB affiliates in an effort to build our listings of performing arts space AD offerings. • We continue to work with ACB headquarters regarding follow-up on the ACB resolution expressing concern about the absence of our audio-described White House tour. • Jason Strother, a blind reporter and NPR contributor based in South Korea, interviewed Joel Snyder and Denise Decker regarding AD for foreign films with subtitles. • We are working on the development of a questionnaire regarding AD vendors to be distributed to government AD purchasers; planning sessions on AD for 508 coordinators and the federal government’s interagency forum; and developing an AD primer for government agencies. • We work with ACB members to establish the annual fundraising effort — “The Describers” — at the Brenda Dillon Memorial Walk. - Certification for Audio Describers and Audio Description Consumer Consultants: The ACB and the ADP have been principal participants in the development of a certification effort with the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals (ACVREP). We produced a white paper on certification for distribution to the field for feedback, held two open conference calls as well as open sessions at the July 2018 ADP Conference and the August 2018 LEAD Conference, and we continue to meet weekly with other members of the Subject Matter Expert Committee on the structure of the program. - World Blind Union: In collaboration with the World Blind Union, we produced a report based on a landmark survey of member nations regarding the state of AD in their countries. The survey was distributed in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and the final report was made available widely. - Travel: We worked with United Airlines on including AD within its in-flight entertainment system and consulted with several individuals on obtaining AD for cruise vacations. We developed and distributed a white paper on the state of description/access for blind passengers and cruises. - National Park Service: We have collaborated on AD projects with the National Park Service including, most recently, the UniDescription initiative focused on accessibility to NPS brochures and other materials. - Video Description Leadership Network/YouDescribe: We partnered with the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute to conduct focus groups that were essential to the establishment of the Video Description Leadership Network and its landmark YouDescribe project. - Special Projects (projects noted with an * were funded by the Aid Association for the Blind of the District of Columbia): • The first ever audio-described tour of The White House; • Live, extemporaneous audio description of the last two presidential inaugurations on ABC; • Nationally broadcast audio description of the 2017 total eclipse; • Live, extemporaneous audio description of a rodeo and fireworks for the ACB national conventions; • * AD tour of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum; • * AD tour of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History “Insect Zoo”; • * Live, scripted description — available at every performance — for two productions at Arena Stage; • * Live, scripted audio description for performances by AXIS Dance Company; • Collaboration with VITAC to produce audio description for four public-domain Halloween-themed films; • Production of audio description for the 30th anniversary of “The Miracle Worker” DVD; • Production of audio description for “War Against The Weak,” a feature film presented at the “disThis” film series in New York City; • Production of audio description for the United Nations’ International Labour Organization in Geneva — “Count Me In!”; and • Production of audio description for the Arts & Entertainment Network documentary “Barack Obama” and WETA’s “Mosque in Morgantown.” ***** All about the Audio Description Project Website by Fred Brack, Webmaster The Audio Description Project (ADP) website is the go-to place for everything you could want to know about audio description (AD). We offer three types of information: 1. Basic information about AD, like what is audio description, samples of description, where you can find AD, podcasts about AD, how you can be trained as an audio describer, and what individuals and organizations offer AD services. 2. General information about each source of programming with description and specifically how you access description: at the movies, on DVD, on television, with streaming services; and where you might find description at performing arts venues, museums, parks, and tours. 3. Specific video titles with audio description tracks from all sources: movies, DVD, TV, and individual streaming services. And we have a searchable master list of nearly 5,000 titles! Of course, with COVID-19, the local movie theaters have been closed; but when they reopen, you should know that almost every first-run movie now contains an audio description track, and you need only ask at the box office for an audio description headset. See our website for tips on how to make sure you get the correct headset (not one just for folks who are hard of hearing), as well as a listing of current movies with AD. Over 1,300 DVDs have audio description tracks, and we list them all dating as far back as 1997. Our listing gives you pointers to purchase them on Amazon if you like. Hundreds of TV series have description tracks which are available on what is called the SAP, or Secondary Audio Programming, channel. Our website explains how to access this track, depending on whether you get your TV over the air, via a media stick, or a cable or satellite receiver. And we offer two listings of described shows: one by network, and the other by day. There are six major streaming services (like Netflix and Prime Video) that offer thousands of audio-described titles, and we list them all for you. We expect at least two more to come on board in 2021, and we’ll be ready. We also urge you to find out if your local theater groups offer any audio-described performances and offer help in finding them. You may also want to check our listings for theaters, museums, and tours in locations to which you travel. So come visit us to learn how and where to find audio description. You can type in any movie or TV series name in our search field, and we’ll tell you where you can find described versions. If you have a child who has a visual impairment, note that our listings are also sortable by rating, which is helpful in finding age-appropriate programming. We are at www.acb.org/adp. Come visit! ***** Audio Description: What It Means to Me by Erika Wolf Audio description: What purpose does it serve, and why is it so important to many people who use it? Let me begin by telling all of you why audio description is so important and has such great value to me. As a blind consumer, having many materials containing audio-described visual content, like having audible means to go by viewing an array of videos; or when taking in outdoor scenery at a tour at the city zoo, attending a live musical performance such as Disney On Ice, or a live concert such as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I have found it to be possible to keep up with my sighted peers by having the knowledge and appreciation of what’s truly going on throughout these captivating events. Before the introduction and incorporation of audio description in movies and stage productions, watching a movie or filmed presentation was nowhere near the same as it is today. Audio description has truly been a game-changer for me as a non-sighted viewer of picture content. Simply put, there is so much more meaning brought to a motion picture film or television series that has implemented audio description throughout its running time for someone like me. Verbal dialogue is absolutely critical to incorporate. Visually, so many actions portrayed by characters, whether on stage or within a film setting, are missed by a blind viewer if audio description is not included. This leaves much unknown to the storyline in the minds of those needing non-speaking portions of the film spoken. There have been so many instances, before audio description actually became a mainstream option for blind movie buffs to tap into at a theater or concert hall, where I would leave the venue not having any inkling of what really took place within the production. This was on account of there not being any audible feedback given throughout the production. Having a true awareness of what was contained and carried out throughout a particular scene, or when scene changes occurred, just wasn’t possible for me to follow. As a blind audience member, I had to try piecing together what was happening either on the big screen or the family television set. There is so much that gets lost in translation when there is little to no audio description added in to fully capture all that is happening within a storyline. Entertainment is nowhere near the same without the inclusion of audio narration. For me, a longtime movie-goer, the quality of a film or stage performance is not the same as when there is a clear audible explanation given. Proper description of expressions held by actors; costumes of sorts; and very detailed physical actions taking place make a tremendous difference. Recently, my cable network provider attempted to clear out my talking cable box so all primetime channels would include audio description, by remotely electronically testing various channels, only to corrupt the box. The accessibility department’s technician was resetting the box, making what description was previously available non-existent, thereby leaving me without audio description. Now that my cable box is functioning without audible means, when trying to channel surf, and gain access to programming lineup, I don’t have any way of knowing what’s coming up on the screen. Since this took place just a short time ago, I’m faced with making the decision to bypass cable altogether, and turn to using only smart TV streaming channels that already include audio description tracks. The cable provider completely disabled all audible features of my box, causing complete disruption to my viewing pleasure due to there no longer being any distinguishable way of discerning what channels are coming into view, or the lineup of any programming. The absence of audio description completely diminishes the enjoyment value of what’s being absorbed. It is essential to have some level of description added in for me to fully get anything out of programs being aired. I’m now having to use an antiquated form of technology, always used in the past, before the passing of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. Audio description comes in handy in relation to any visual live shows being performed, such as in the case of a fireworks display show, any type of major holiday or city parade, national sports championship celebratory parade, and sporting events in general. Those without vision loss may have no conception of what audio description can truly offer to enhance visual elements to someone blind. Oftentimes, I’ve had to effectively educate close-minded skeptics that have scoffed at my high praises of the enhancement of what audio description can bring to someone with impaired to no sight. Of course, this has mainly been among sighted people who have not undergone wearing sleep shades or blocking out all usable vision to experience what it would be like to watch or sit through a performance with or without audio description. If this article could serve to dispel some misperceptions that blind and visually impaired people have no way of truly enjoying the arts, like Broadway productions; national parks and monuments; museums; and visual events like a variety of dance, otherwise thought to be “too visual to truly enjoy, or follow and understand,” then my words, outlined here, will capture what is intended. So many things can be truly thoroughly enjoyed and admired through the ingenuity of audio description. “A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words,” so by having one professionally and artfully describe a picture, stage presence and presentation, or detailed live physical actions, then the same level of emotions and interpretation can be brought about through the masterpiece of audio description. ***** Paradigm Shift: Audio Description Your Way by Carl Richardson, Co-Chair, Audio Description Project Gone are the days when the only way you could watch film and television with audio description was to be content with what the broadcast and cable channels thought you wanted to see, when they made decisions about what you wanted to watch and when you wanted to watch it. Gone are the days when you were limited to renting a VHS cassette or DVD from your local talking book library, because it was one of the few places that made audio description content available to you. We are now in a very exciting time, a time when you can watch what you want, when you want, and how you want. This paradigm shift means, to paraphrase a once famous advertisement, you can now have it your way. With the explosion of streaming services and the availability of audio description on these services, we now have the freedom to choose not only what to watch, when to watch, and how to watch, but also we can choose from many thousands of titles. We can watch at our convenience and on our streaming device, smartphone, or accessible smart television. What is ironic is that there are no laws mandating audio description on streaming services, yet these services are the ones producing the most audio description at a high quality and with such variety that there is something out there for people of all ages, tastes and viewing habits. There is a streaming service for educational purposes in the K-12 school system for parents and teachers of visually impaired children, and we can also watch audio description in multiple languages. This is an exciting time for lovers of audio description. We can rent, buy, and stream with or without commercials. We can binge-watch or watch weekly installments of certain series, all depending on the streaming service that is right for us. It is up to us to do the research and find what works for ourselves. Now, with the ever-changing landscape of the streaming wars in the media industry, what we want can actually be hard to keep up with. But that’s actually a good thing! Below is a list, along with the corresponding websites, of many currently available streaming services. Things change rapidly, so by the time you read this article, there might be other options. For this reason, I am not going to review pricing, devices the services work on, or what each service provides in terms of content. Instead, the list below is designed to make you aware of the many streaming services that offer audio description. For more information and an up-to-date catalog of titles, just go to the Audio Description Project at www.acb.org/adp. For pricing and availability, check out the streaming service’s website or contact their customer service center. And here, in no particular order, are the streaming services that let you have it your way: 1. Apple TV Plus on-demand streaming service – www.appletvplus.com 2. iTunes – rent or purchase to own TV shows and films – www.apple.com 3. Disney Plus – on-demand streaming service – www.disneyplus.com 4. Amazon Prime Video – on-demand streaming service as well as rent to own and buy titles – www.primevideo.com 5. Described and Captioned Media Project (DCMP) – www.dcmp.org – educational streaming service for K-12 education 6. Netflix – on-demand streaming service – www.netflix.com 7. CBS All Access – on-demand streaming service plus CBS programming – www.cbsallaccess.com 8. HBO Max – AD starting in March – on-demand streaming service- www.hbomax.com 9. IMDb TV– free on-demand streaming service – www.imdbtv.com 10. YouTube TV – live TV and cloud DVR service – www.youtubetv.com 11. Spectrum Access – streaming app to compliment TV with AD – www.spectrum.com/access 12. Hulu – on-demand streaming service – www.hulu.com 13. YouDescribe – audio description for YouTube videos – www.youdescribe.org 14. Watch ABC App – App that streams on-demand ABC programming – get the app on Android or the Apple app store It is very exciting to be in the midst of a true paradigm shift – to go from only watching audio description that is available on a few broadcast channels during primetime hours, to having a choice of what to watch, when to watch, and how to watch. This opportunity is due in large part to the work and advocacy of the Audio Description Project (ADP). The ADP has lobbied and worked collaboratively with a multitude of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max. As co-chair of the ADP, I am proud of the many consumers, advocates, and members of ACB and ADP that have made this happen. The streaming landscape continues to evolve on what seems a daily basis, so we continue to need your help. If you have any thoughts, suggestions or ideas for ways to improve existing services or to advocate for a new service to have audio description, please do not hesitate to contact me at carl@carl-richardson.com, or you can contact members of the ADP through the Audio Description Project at www.acb.org/adp. We want to hear all about how you want to have it your way! ***** Audio Description Snobbery by Roy Samuelson Blind people watch movies and TV shows. Like a sports radio announcer, audio description gives the play-by-play of the visuals. When my voiceover career brought me to audio description, it was an audition in a studio, where I sat in a room in front of a microphone, hearing in headphones, and watching both the video on a screen and reading a paper script on a music stand. I was directed and an engineer made sure the volume and timing were just right. Every moment of the recording, from the performance to the collaboration with the team, got me so excited I could barely sleep that night — not only because I wanted the job, but also because it brought so many performance elements of voiceover training into one job in such a uniquely nuanced way. Since then, the audio description titles have grown to nearly 5,000! And consider a title is one show, and one show can have many episodes and seasons, that number is counting individual episodes, likely closer to 15,000 to 20,000! We’d have to check with the Audio Description Project at acb.org/adp to verify that, but the quantity is getting there. Beyond quantity, audio description audiences are turning into snobs, in the best way possible. They are distinguishing between what works for them and what doesn’t. The writing has been the main focus of most discussions of audio description quality — and rightly so! If a picture is worth a thousand words, and one second of a movie is 24 frames or pictures per second, right there in that one second of a movie is 24,000 words the audio description writer has to choose from. Now in a 90-minute movie, that can be in the millions of words! Writers then have to narrow down even more to fit in between lines of dialogue. Plus, make sure the writing style, word choice, and phrasing also don’t distract from the immersive experience. Just like going to the theater to see a Shakespeare play, someone could either be moved to tears because the actors are using the text in a way that taps into something deep and heartfelt, or someone else could also hear that same exact text performed in a way that brings you to tears — because you can’t wait for intermission to leave and never come back. Audiences are noticing that the performance can mean an immersive experience similar to what sighted audiences have, where the audio description voice talent is focused on the story and not the voice talent. And what about timing? If audio description is unintentionally talking while characters are talking, it’s distracting. Also, being left out of the joke because the audio description was holding back, and everyone else is laughing, or the opposite — a jump scare where the audio description audience gets the experience way before the rest of the audience does. Setting that timing is the sound editor’s job, to make sure the experience syncs up with sighted audiences. Sometimes the audio description gets in the way of the original audio, where the audience has to turn the volume up and down, constantly having to make adjustments, or miss out on the sound experience that was painstakingly created by many post-production sound experts. And other times the audio description blends in perfectly, and audiences can experience the highs and lows — and with audio description — due to the care and consideration given to the content. And that’s not the end of the quality and excellence of audio description. Blind advisors give feedback as to what works for them and what doesn’t. In the dozens of projects I’ve produced, each one has had a paid blind advisor who gave the audio description what it needed, and it’s made all the difference. Once the audio description is complete, does it even travel from cinema to streaming? There are licensing and legal reasons that the answer might be no, or even multiple versions, created by different companies — create audio description for the same show. Imagine the U.S. version of Spider Man starring Tom Holland, but the Canadian version has Debra Winger, and written by Trevor Noah. Yet some companies have figured this out, and the video, audio, audio description, and dubbing and subtitles all travel together. So it can be done. All of these elements — writing, voicing, directing, editing, mixing, advising, and distribution — boil down to an immersive experience, in parity to sighted audience’s experience. It’s not a flip of a switch, or an automation, just in the same way that films don’t just simply come together. A lot of care, coordination, and expertise goes into this. Yet, as more of this work comes out, many shortcuts are taken to get more content with audio description to audiences. While audio description audiences are grateful to even have audio description, a poorly executed audio description track can hurt their immersive experience. Yet systemic changes are starting to happen as more audiences continue to speak up and demand the kind of experience they want, beyond just having it. Audio description snobs could number nearly 30 million blind and low vision Americans. And their voice needs to be heard. ACB’s Audio Description Project at acb.org/adp provides lots of researchable content. Discover more about resources there. Hear more about the quality of audio description from the 2020 ACB convention keynote speech. Also, why not also visit the nearly 80 interviews of professional audio description talents — writers, voice talents, engineers, and other experts, blind and sighted, at theADNA.org/know-your-narrator and on most all podcast platforms. And be sure to visit kevinsWay.com to learn more about bridging the gap between audio description audiences and the entertainment industry. ***** Commercials with Audio Description: It’s About Time People Who Are Blind Are Considered within the Advertising Dollar by Kim Charlson Have you ever been watching television (with audio description, of course) and one of those contemporary commercials with music and no words begins to air. Do you think, “I wonder what this ad is for?” It’s quite obvious that the trend is to get people to look at the screen to see the product. Well, if they just added audio description, everyone would hear what the ad was featuring as they race off to the kitchen to get a snack while the commercial airs, and people who are blind would finally have access to key product information long denied by advertisers. Advertisers would need to do a little conscious thinking about the design of commercials. Currently, it might not even be possible in some cases to include audio description due to constant dialogue. Sometimes, scripts would need to have some pauses in the dialogue to allow time for description to be inserted. Or perhaps the commercials could be written in a way that is self-descriptive, including descriptive language in the formulation of the commercial’s script? Procter & Gamble has been an industry leader in adding audio description to advertisements. The Audio Description Project (ADP) website has added a page focusing on advertising that includes audio description with samples of commercials. The ADP will be adding more commercials as they are identified to this page. Check it out at www.acb.org/adp/commercials.html to learn more. What do we need to do to begin to see advertisements with audio description in the U.S.? When P&G’s accessibility leader, Samaira Latif, decided to lead the drive for audio-described ads in the U.K. as the norm rather than the exception, you would think she would have found a receptive audience. Wouldn’t it seem like a no-brainer that if there was a way to reach hundreds of thousands more people with your TV ad by changing nothing at all, and only adding some extra words, heard on the SAP channel where audio description in the U.S. is broadcast, wouldn’t you want to do it? Imagine corporations being able to deliver their message directly to the 13-plus percent of the U.S. population with severe visual impairments. Recent demographic data from the American Foundation for the Blind confirms that an estimated 32.2 million adult Americans (or about 13% of all adult Americans) reported they either “have trouble” seeing, even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, or that they are blind or unable to see at all. Here is a significant population that has previously been ignored by other major brands. Imagine being able to do this by increasing your media budget by roughly 0.0001% to boost your audience significantly. This progressive business strategy does exist, and it has been successfully implemented by Procter & Gamble. In the U.S., we are waiting for other forward-thinking corporations to join industry leader Comcast, which has stepped forward and embraced the economic philosophy of inclusion in advertising. There have been a limited number of corporations with commercials including audio description in the U.S. — joining Comcast are such corporations as Kimberly-Clark (i.e., Kleenex), Walmart, Enterprise Car Rental, just to name a few. It’s time that the U.S. stepped up and joined the U.K. in setting the stage for audio description in television advertising. Here in the U.S., we would need to turn to the Federal Communications Commission to develop guidelines for audio description in advertising, similar to the requirements already in place for ads in general. In the U.K., audio-described ads must follow the scrutiny of the Advertising Standards Authority and its guidelines. According to the ASA guidelines, “audio description should include any essential visual elements, for example, on-screen text, which qualifies spoken claims.” It should be noted that no audience has ever been recognized as asking for advertising. Yet, companies are still producing commercials. It therefore seems incumbent on corporations doing business to think about the market of blind and visually impaired viewers of television — and their friends and family members, and step up and begin including audio description in your commercials. What other market share has ever reached out and asked for advertising? Corporations need to approach this issue as fundamentally the right thing to do. It can grow your business share, and it demonstrates corporate inclusiveness and responsibility. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) does not presently have a position on the audio description of commercials. The number of audio-described commercials is beginning to increase because of industry leaders like Procter & Gamble and many others, and ACB urges NAB to set an example and encourage its broadcasters to pass through audio-described commercials that are beginning to appear in the U.S. television market. ACB is beginning its journey on the audio-described commercials path, and we will be reaching out to U.S. corporations and those global corporations that advertise in the U.S. to begin including audio description in their television advertising. According to Latif, “We are on a journey to expanding and making this process sustainable, but there’s a lot of education work to do.” ACB is determined to make audio description on commercials happen, especially with partners like the U.K., Samaira Latif and Procter & Gamble. As people who are blind and visually impaired, having experienced that feeling of being left out and left behind when viewing advertising, and not being able to be a part of a shared cultural conversation, ACB must work to develop a plan of action for the future to work with partners to engage broadcasters and start the conversation about audio description among industry advertisers. Stay tuned and keep visiting www.acb.org/adp/commercials. ***** Here and There edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins The announcement of products and services in this column does not represent an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its officers, or staff. Listings are free of charge for the benefit of our readers. “The ACB E-Forum” cannot be held responsible for the reliability of the products and services mentioned. To submit items for this column, send a message to slovering@acb.org, or phone the national office at 1-800-424-8666, and leave a message in Sharon Lovering’s mailbox. Information must be received at least two months ahead of publication date. ** Tax Time Is Coming … The Internal Revenue Service has updated information on IRS.gov regarding the Alternative Media Center (AMC) at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/information-about-the-alternative-media-center and on its Accessible Forms & Publications page at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/accessible-irs-tax-products. The AMC provides a variety of services to assist visually impaired taxpayers. For more information, call 1-800-829-1040. ** Eclipse Soundscapes Citizen Science Project Selected for NASA Grant Over 5 years, ESCSP and NASA will explore how U.S. ecosystems are impacted by solar eclipses. The project will promote inclusive and accessible learning, with a special focus on people who are blind or low vision. It will introduce accessible opportunities for citizen scientists to participate in eclipse research. Citizen scientists will collect audio recordings from eclipses and analyze acoustic data to determine how disruptions in light and circadian rhythms may affect ecosystems. For more information, visit www.ArisaLab.org. ** Summer 2021 Internships at NASA NASA offers internships for high school, college, graduate and post-graduate students. Internships provide students with the opportunity to participate in either research or other experiential learning, under the guidance of a mentor at NASA. Information is available at https://intern.nasa.gov/. For specific information about applying for internships as a student with a disability, please join the listserv. Subscribe by sending an email to nasainterns-request@freelists.org with “subscribe” (minus the quotes) in the subject field, or by visiting the announce-only list page at https://www.freelists.org/list/nasainterns. For further information, contact Kenneth Silberman via email, kenneth.a.silberman@nasa.gov. ** New COO at Lighthouse Guild Paul Misiti is the new Chief Operating Officer at Lighthouse Guild (New York). Prior to joining Lighthouse Guild, he was with Bausch + Lomb, where his most recent position was Executive Director of Medical Office and Medical Science Operations R&D. He has also held positions at TRICO®, Eaton, and Chrysler Motors. ** New from NBP National Braille Press has a variety of new products available. Among them are a variety of magnets with memorable quotations, such as: “Friends are the family you choose for yourself.” — Unknown “Whatever you’re meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.” — Doris Lessing “Us. Friends. Always.” — Mary Anne Radmacher Over in the children’s section are two new books, “Bearnard’s Book” by Deborah Underwood and Misa Saburi, and “How to Read a Book” by Kwame Alexander and Melissa Sweet. Both are available in contracted braille (UEB). Also new is “Owl at Home,” by Arnold Lobel. It’s available in contracted UEB, and is for ages 4-8. Learn about Owl’s life and home in the woods. Brand-new and now available is “Thursday Morning Quotations – Volume 2.” It comes as one small spiral-bound braille booklet, and includes 52 memorable quotes. For more information, call National Braille Press toll-free at 1-800-548-7323, or visit www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/publications/index.html. ** NBP Receives Grant National Braille Press received $150,000 from the NewCo Foundation for the Children’s Braille Book Club (CBBC). Over five years, this grant will allow the CBBC to provide free braille books for blind and visually impaired children and their families. Applications for the free subscriptions opened on Jan. 4, 2021. This initiative will begin by offering free 1-year (12 book) subscriptions to 125 eligible families on a first-come, first-served basis from March 2021 to February 2022. For more information, visit https://info.nbp.org/cbbc-info. ** News Podcast by Phone Missing the TellMe service? Good news! MTech has come up with a replacement service for computer-free folks. You can reach its news podcast at (814) 322-9352, and hear news from Fox, ABC, NPR, SRN, and several other sources. The first 30 minutes of listening per day is free. There’s also a number to call to hear the weather, (814) 308-5074. ** Any Camp Bloomfield Alums Out There? I am looking for alumni from Camp Bloomfield from 1965 to 1973. I went to Bloomfield and participated in the talent shows there. I am looking for campers, counselors, and specialists. If you were at Camp Bloomfield during those years, call Walter Chavira at (661) 748-7249. ** Mentorship for Blind People Are you new to blindness? Would you like a mentor? David White has started a mentorship program for blind people. You can reach him at (540) 988-5079 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern; after 5 p.m., you can reach him at (540) 970-6320. ***** Tune In to God’s Audio Description by Chaplain Timothy Burdick Before audio description, listening to a movie without much talking in it was synonymous with sleeping. While I am still not a big fan of movies, I do enjoy them more when I'm using a headset which allows me to hear audible descriptions of what is going on. It is the same way in our spiritual lives. God only wants the best for us, but in order to experience that, we need to put on the headset which He offers, while tuning in to His audio description channel and listening to what He has to say. Isaiah 41:10 describes three things that God wants to do in your life, and two things which He asks us to do. To see what I mean, please read the following verse with me. “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (NIV) When facing life, it is easy to be consumed by fear. But God wants to encourage us, telling us that we no longer have to live in that mode. “But I still feel the same way,” you may say. “Do you really believe that?” Yes, my friend, and I will tell you why. As a hospital chaplain who is blind, God helps me to step out when things seem overwhelming. As I clung to His Word, He gave me a new sense of courage. It wasn’t that things were suddenly a lot easier, but knowing that the God of the universe was with me gives me new resolve. The fear that told me I would fail went right out the door, along with the discouragement which held me back, and I could look at things differently. But how that affects you depends on how you respond to Him. He promises to strengthen, uphold and help you through the situations you face. Will you let Him be a faithful friend in your life? Start by taking small steps today, and He will broaden your horizons tomorrow. To read our inspiring blogs or listen to our podcast, please go to mynvm.com. ***** High Tech Swap Shop ** For Sale: Insignia Roku TV, 24” LED display screen, mint condition. Asking $100. Contact Shawn Cox at (585) 404-6643, or email him, smcox76@gmail.com. ** For Sale: HIMS Braille Sense Plus QWERTY in good condition. Comes with leather carrying case, battery charger and 32-gig compact flash card. Asking $1,000 or best offer. Please contact John at johnnyrusso140@gmail.com. ** Looking For: Maryann Sears is seeking the donation of a Perkins brailler. If you have one you aren’t using, and would like to donate it, contact Maryann via email, timbersgirl219@gmail.com, or by phone, (318) 245-5864. ** Looking For: One APH BookPort device, preferably with all software and accoutrements. Contact Bob Freedman in Tucson at (520) 850-9269, or email him, freedmanbob@yahoo.com. ***** ** ACB Officers * President Dan Spoone (1st term, 2021) 3924 Lake Mirage Blvd. Orlando, FL 32817-1554 * First Vice President Mark Richert (1st term, 2021) 1515 Jefferson Davis Hwy. Apt. 622 Arlington, VA 22202-3309 * Second Vice President Ray Campbell (1st term, 2021) 460 Raintree Ct. #3K Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 * Secretary Denise Colley (1st term, 2021) 1401 Northwest Ln. SE Lacey, WA 98503 * Treasurer David Trott (2nd term, 2021) 1018 East St. S. Talladega, AL 35160 * Immediate Past President Kim Charlson 57 Grandview Ave. Watertown, MA 02472 ** ACB Board of Directors Jeff Bishop, Kirkland, WA (1st term, 2021) Donna Brown, Romney, WV (partial term, 2021) Sara Conrad, Madison, WI (2nd term, 2021) Dan Dillon, Hermitage, TN (1st term, 2021) Katie Frederick, Worthington, OH (2nd term, 2022) James Kracht, Miami, FL (1st term, 2022) Doug Powell, Falls Church, VA (1st term, 2021) Patrick Sheehan, Silver Spring, MD (2nd term, 2022) Michael Talley, Hueytown, AL (1st term, 2022) Jeff Thom, Sacramento, CA (1st term, 2022) ** ACB Board of Publications Debbie Lewis, Chair, Clarkston, WA (2nd term, 2021) Paul Edwards, Miami, FL (2nd term, 2021) Zelda Gebhard, Edgeley, ND (partial term, 2021) Susan Glass, Saratoga, CA (2nd term, 2021) Penny Reeder, Montgomery Village, MD (1st term, 2021) ***** Accessing Your ACB Braille and E-Forums The ACB E-Forum may be accessed by email, on the ACB web site, via download from the web page (in Word, plain text, or braille-ready file), or by phone at (518) 906-1820. To subscribe to the email version, contact Sharon Lovering, slovering@acb.org. The ACB Braille Forum is available by mail in braille, large print, NLS-style digital cartridge, and via email. It is also available to read or download from ACB’s web page, and by phone, (518) 906-1820. Subscribe to the podcast versions from your 2nd generation Victor Reader Stream or from https://pinecast.com/feed/acb-braille-forum-and-e-forum.