Blind-friendly candidates lose e-book-related election

Details via the TeleRead Web Log. Accessibility is an issue very dear to me and, I know, to the blind readers of David F's blog. Perhaps 70 percent of America's blind people are unemployed, and what better way to improve themselves than through books with which speech synthesizers get along well?

That's not the reality today, however, thanks partly to a less-than-fully-committed standards effort over the years from the International Digital Publishing Forum. Alas, in the just-finished election, IDPF members failed to re-elect board member George Kerscher--a blind man who is a prominent disability advocate within the tech community. Once the IDPF had even chosen George as chair, but I guess priorities change. Yes, for the benefit of the sighted, that's George in the photo.

A second blind-friendly candidate, Mark Carey, also lost. While the e-book industry is getting better, it still has a long way to go toward full accessibility.

One result is that David F can't be nearly as productive as a super-gifted book reviewer as he could be if true e-book standards existed.

Luckily another e-book standards group has emerged, the OpenReader Consortium, in which I'm involved along with Mark and others; and we'll cherish particpation by blind people and others with print-related impairments.

- Text by David Rothman

Book review: Outwitting History--on preserving Yiddish books

If you are interested in languages, cultures, and unique literatures, Outwitting History is for you. If you like reading about books, libraries, how several young volunteers started a grassroots organization that now has over 35,000 members, again Outwitting History is for you.

I found a friend's comparisons of Yiddish and Braille fascinating.

To learn more about Yiddish book preservation, go here.

Lovecraft, Part II

Lovecraft as a master of the macabre

The Unnameable: Tales of Horror from the Pen of H. P. Lovecraft, Master of the Macabre (Also known as The Unnameable, Four Tales by H. P. Lovecraft, 1890-1937: Legendary Master of the Macabre). Spoken-Word Audiobook CD with music. Read by David Cade. (ISBN # 0-9552090-0-5)

Here's a text of my review.

Blind Chance's year in review

I'd like to take a moment to thank all my blog visitors who have stopped by this past year, May 9, 2005-May 9, 2006.

If you like book reviews, I posted a variety of them. There is everything from science fiction and horror to dual biography and ecology.

The two multi-part interviews I did are worth a listen. I also spoke on some blindness-related issues including Blind Justice, re-arranging my living room, and the development of haptic devices and software.

Several of the postings could have been much better both content-wise and voice quality-wise. But live and learn. I'm still here after 24 months, not too shabby for the Internet which has an attention span measured in nano fragments.

Enjoy. Dive in.

Stay tuned for my third year!

IMAGINE THAT!!!

Eulogy

Composing a eulogy may be the hardest thing you'll ever do, but it can be a way to begin to heal. I did some research and was amazed at how many eulogy-writing services there are on the Internet. A Google search revealed that there are many step-by-step eulogy guides out there. These books are in PDF format and for a credit card payment can be e-mailed directly to you. Being leery of the somewhat problematic PDF format, I chose to forego the e-books and tried to come up with something on my own. Friends supplied two eulogies as templates which helped me to compose my thoughts.

I include the eulogy I delivered in hopes it might help you should you find yourself having to compose something to honor a departed loved one.

Haptic software: Virtual museum tours for the blind?

Haptic software may now make it possible for the blind to visit virtual museums, explore molecular structures, learn about bridges and mechanical engineering, explore spreadsheets, or even learn how to sculpt. Perhaps, it could serve as a Braille tutor or even allow a blind person to explore virtual libraries? More details here.

--Text by David Faucheux

Audio book conf at BookExpo America on May 18

Details here.

Illinois authors featured in chatcasts: From J.A. Konrath to Saul Bellow

From J.A. Konrath (May 10) to Saul Bellow (May 24), Illinois-related authors are the focus of new chatcasts from OPAL. Go here to partcipate and get the software (no spyware). More info here, via Tom Peters. For our sighted readers, the picture is of Bellow as his Nobel diploma shows him. Meanwhile here's an overview from the Illinois series:

...Wednesday, May 24, 2006 beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, 5:00 Pacific, and midnight GMT:

Book Discussion of The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow

Follow Augie March, born to poor Russian Jewish immigrants, as he grows up in Depression-era Chicago, has many antic adventures, and tries to understand and navigate the modern American world of wealth, war, and women. This informal online book discussion is part of the series "The Sense of People; The Sense of Place" containing selected authors from Chicago and downstate Illinois. Other novels that will be discussed in the series include: Chicago Girls by Edith Freund, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury, Studs Lonigan by James Farrell, So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell, Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, Native Son by Richard Wright, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Fire Sale by Sara Paretsky, and others. This series is sponsored by TAP Information Services.