From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Thu Jan 4 15:29:39 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2018 10:29:39 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] =?utf-8?q?FW=3A_=5BHarmonizers=5D_Iron_and_Coal?= =?utf-8?q?_Information_-_Women=E2=80=99s_Voices?= Message-ID: <00ff01d38570$d685a330$8390e990$@gmail.com> Good morning, I hope everyone is warm and safe today! I wanted to share the below announcement with the chapter in case any of our female members were looking for a vocal performance opportunity that involves both the Harmonizers and the Strathmore in MD. This should be an amazing and unique opportunity. And of course, our male chapter members are always welcome to come on down and check out the Alexandria Harmonizers any Tuesday night at 7pm at the Durant Center on Cameron St in Alexandria! Thanks! Brian Miller President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia ------------------------------------------------ Hello , Happy New Year! This year the Alexandria Harmonizers are celebrating our 70th Anniversary! In addition to planning a series of exciting concerts to celebrate our history, we have been invited to participate in a project at Strathmore Music Center this spring. The project is a new work called Iron and Coal, a rock oratorio by Jeremy Schonfeld, which takes inspiration from his father Gustav?s memoir Absence of Closure, and traces his father?s attempts to create a life out of the ashes having spent a year in Auschwitz in 1944?45 at the age of ten. In addition to requiring a male chorus, the work calls for approximately 50 female singers. The 2-hour work will total approximately 20-25 minutes of choral singing, in English and Hebrew, over 7 movements and it is NOT expected to be memorized - except for the final number. While the Harmonizers rehearse regularly on Tuesday nights, we will be holding separate rehearsals to rehearse this work. The schedule below (which has changed slightly since our initial communications) has all of the dates we would potentially rehearse, but I would expect that, by the time we secure venues for the rehearsals, a few of them may have to be canceled or changed. The men's voices will have a slightly different rehearsal schedule, but the schedule below represents the maximum we would expect the women's voices to rehearse for this project (I do not expect the dress rehearsals on April 29-May 2 to change as they're imposed on us by Strathmore). Rehearsal Schedule for Women: Auditions - Monday, January 8 or Thursday, January 11 - 7-10pm Women's Rehearsal - Thursday, February 8, 7-9pm Mixed Rehearsal - Thursday, February 15, 7-10pm Mixed Rehearsal - Thursday, February 22, 7-10pm Mixed Rehearsal - Tuesday, March 13, 7-10pm Women's Rehearsal - Thursday, April 5, 7-9pm Mixed Rehearsal - Sunday, April 8, 2pm-5pm Women's Rehearsal - Thursday, April 12, 7-9pm Rehearsal with Conductor and Composer - Thursday, April 19, 7-10pm Rehearsal with Conductor and Composer - Tuesday, April 24, 7-10pm Dress Rehearsal - Sunday, April 29, 6-10pm Dress Rehearsal - Monday, April 30, 6-10pm Dress Rehearsal - Tuesday, May 1, 6-10pm Dress Rehearsal - Wednesday, May 2, 6-10pm Performance - Thursday, May 3, 4pm Call Performance - Friday, May 4, 4pm Call To help answer some additional questions, I've shared a PDF (attached) that explains the development of the project. I'll also share some links related to the development of the project. Here is the composer performing Iron and Coal theme song: https://youtu.be/R-rQmMRu1lg Additionally, the work will use projections, animation, a rock band, chamber orchestra, a youth choruses and youth orchestra. Segments of animation related to one of the songs can be seen here: https://youtu.be/jKVB9uZ2rUo Finally, here is the composer's web site with a link to additional recordings from Iron and Coal on sound cloud: http://www.jeremyschonfeld.com/jersongs/ Keep in mind, none of these recordings will have any chorus singing, because the composer is still composing the chorus parts that we expect to receive shortly. The auditions will take place Monday, January 8 and Thursday, January 11 from 7-10pm at the Durant Center (1605 Cameron St. Alexandria, VA 22310). The audition will only last about 10 minutes. During that time, we will ask you to sing no more than 60 seconds of any song that shows off the skill and quality of your voice, followed by a few sight reading examples (not required, but very helpful), and a review of the rehearsal schedule and your ability to commit to it. If you are able to commit to the rehearsal schedule and are interested in auditioning, please send an email to Joe Cerutti, the Artistic Director of the Alexandria Harmonizers, at joe.cerutti at gmail.com with the day you are able to audition ("Monday, January 8" or "Thursday, January 11" or "Either Date" if your availability is flexible) and he will reply with a 20-minute slot for you to arrive and audition. If you're unable to audition on either of those dates, let us know and we'll try to find another time to hold the audition, likely an upcoming Tuesday night at our usual rehearsal. Additionally, we are still in need of more women, so if you know any women with quality voices and quick learning/reading chops that would be interested in joining us, please feel free to forward this information to them. All questions and interest in the audition should email membership at harmonizers.org. Finally, we have not been cleared to post ANYTHING publicly about this project until we receive permission from Strathmore, so please do not post this information on any social media for the time being. Thanks for your consideration and we hope to see you at the upcoming auditions! Joe Cerutti Artistic Director Alexandria Harmonizers __._,_.___ _____ Posted by: Joseph Cerutti _____ Reply via web post ? Reply to sender ? Reply to group ? Start a New Topic ? Messages in this topic (1) _____ Have you tried the highest rated email app? With 4.5 stars in iTunes, the Yahoo Mail app is the highest rated email app on the market. What are you waiting for? Now you can access all your inboxes (Gmail, Outlook, AOL and more) in one place. Never delete an email again with 1000GB of free cloud storage. _____ Reminder: Post message to Harmolist: Harmonizers at yahoogroups.com Reply goes to originator; Reply All goes to Group also. Visit Your Group Yahoo! Groups ? Privacy ? Unsubscribe ? Terms of Use . __,_._,___ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Iron and Coal Introduction.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 4001711 bytes Desc: not available URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Thu Jan 11 15:35:15 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2018 10:35:15 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] FW: World Blind Union (WBU) Survey In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <007401d38af1$c7780780$56681680$@gmail.com> All, I was asked to share the below survey with the chapter. We are so fortunate to have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to women in leadership roles! Thanks for your attention to this request. Brian R Miller, Ph.D. President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFBV From: Victor, Liz Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2018 7:28 PM To: Victor, Liz Cc: Parker, Billy Subject: World Blind Union (WBU) Survey Good afternoon, Below is a message/request from Billy Parker, Program Director, Employment Support Services at National Industries for the Blind. National Industries for the Blind (NIB) is a member of the World Blind Union (WBU) and have been requested to share the attached survey with blind and partially sighted women. Please take a few minutes to complete and return it to the WBU Women's Committee to aid in determining the reason for a low number of women leaders. Please feel free to forward the survey. Please return the completed questionnaire by January 31, 2018 to the WBU Office at info at wbu.ngo. Thanks. Liz Victor Human Resources National Industries for the Blind 1310 Braddock Place Alexandria, VA 22314 703/310-0325 Description: Description: Description: Description: NIB_wType_07_blu_small -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 8819 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Survey questionnaire for blind-partially sighted women -eng.docx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Size: 23254 bytes Desc: not available URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Thu Jan 11 21:28:17 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2018 16:28:17 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] Save the Date - next Greater Alexandria Chapter meeting, January 25, 7:00pm Message-ID: <018201d38b23$19152a10$4b3f7e30$@gmail.com> Good afternoon, This is a reminder that we will hold our next meeting of the Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia on Thursday, January 25, at 7:00pm, in the clubhouse on the 25th floor of the fabulous Meridian at Eisenhower Station building. The address is: 2351 Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314. I will send a detailed agenda closer to our meeting date, but some of the topics we will discuss include: *The Holman Prize - Could you be the next winner? *Audio description in your community - how to take advantage of this critical access service at the movies and the theater. *Quick tech tips - we will demo an app or device that can improve your life as a blind or visually impaired person. *Fund-raising ideas for the chapter - how to seek sponsorships, and build our profile in the community. And so much more! Ok, maybe not a lot more, but that's quite a bit already, don't you think? The Meridian at Eisenhower Station is conveniently located across the street from. Guess? The Eisenhower Ave Metro station! There are lots of places to grab a bite within a one block radius, so pick up a sandwich, some sushi, or a tub of Cold Stone Creameries goodness and come join the chapter for another exciting meeting. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call me at 703-785-9929. I look forward to seeing you there. Sincerely, Brian R. Miller, Ph.D. President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Fri Jan 12 15:42:27 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2018 10:42:27 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] FW: Library of Congress Tour for the blind In-Reply-To: References: <7677d078d0fe4bcab022392cb5471e40@LCXEX04.LCDS.LOC.GOV>, , Message-ID: <02cb01d38bbb$f3785090$da68f1b0$@gmail.com> Good morning, In case you aren't signed up for this newsletter, I wanted to share the below announcement about a tour that looks especially interesting. Brian Miller President GAC/NFBV From: Timony, James (DCPL) [mailto:James.Timony at dc.gov] Sent: Friday, January 12, 2018 9:24 AM To: Timony, James (DCPL) Subject: Fw: Library of Congress Tour for the blind For more information contact Visitor Services at VSO at loc.gov or 202-707-9779 TOUCH HISTORY Verbal Description Tour of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building Visitors with visual impairment are invited to experience a walking tour of the Thomas Jefferson Building. The Touch History tour is led by a specially trained docent, who uses vivid language to describe the building. Winter tour dates and times: Saturday, January 13 at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 16 at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, February 6 at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, February 10 at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 20 at 8:45 a.m. Image used as background of flyer is that of the Thomas Jefferson Building dome and gold torch Good afternoon, Please feel free to share our upcoming dates for the Library of Congress "Touch History" tour for the blind. Thank you, Visitor Services Office Library of Congress -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Touch History1.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 288737 bytes Desc: not available URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Tue Jan 23 14:36:44 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2018 09:36:44 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] FW: City of Alexandria Academy Programs Accepting Applications for Spring 2018 In-Reply-To: <540169478.30545455.1516663315454.JavaMail.appuser@conn02.ne14.us-east-1b.prd1.ebcolo.com> References: <540169478.30545455.1516663315454.JavaMail.appuser@conn02.ne14.us-east-1b.prd1.ebcolo.com> Message-ID: <013401d39457$98125440$c836fcc0$@gmail.com> Fellow chapter members, Here are several opportunities to learn more about your community? These are unique programs and all are free! Brian Miller President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia From: Alexandria eNews [mailto:noreply at everbridge.net] Sent: Monday, January 22, 2018 6:22 PM To: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Subject: City of Alexandria Academy Programs Accepting Applications for Spring 2018 You are subscribed to the free Alexandria eNews service. Replies to this message will not be received. For correspondence, please use the contact information in the body of the message. City of Alexandria Academy Programs Accepting Applications for Spring 2018 For Immediate Release: January 22, 2018 The City of Alexandria invites the community to learn more about City government through the upcoming Alexandria City Academy, Alexandria Commonwealth?s Attorney Community Academy, Alexandria Community Fire Academy, Alexandria Community Police Academy, and Alexandria Senior Academy. These programs are designed to inform, educate and engage the community on how local government works. The City, Fire and Police programs will begin their next sessions in March. The next Commonwealth?s Attorney and Senior program sessions will begin in April. ? The Alexandria City Academy teaches participants about general government operations and departments through a combination of classroom and hands-on experiences. ? The new Alexandria Commonwealth?s Attorney Community Academy will offer an in-depth look at how criminal offenses are prosecuted in the City of Alexandria by the Commonwealth Attorney?s office. Other programs within the office include a multijurisdictional drug prosecution program and the Victim-Witness Assistance Program. ? The Alexandria Community Fire Academy educates community members about fire safety and emergency medical response, as well as the history, administration, operations, and apparatus of an urban public safety agency. ? The Alexandria Community Police Academy provides an opportunity for residents to learn about various aspects of the Police Department, such as administrative philosophy, internal policies and the guiding principles of law and ethical conduct governing the delivery of police services. ? The Alexandria Senior Academy, a partnership between the City and Senior Services of Alexandria, gives seniors (ages 60 and up) exposure to the City?s government functions and provides education on local organizations that provide services and programs to the senior community. These programs are open to residents, Alexandria business owners, and City employees. A graduation ceremony will be held at the end of each academy program session. Class sizes are limited. For more information, including deadlines and application forms, visit alexandriava.gov/Academies. The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended. To request a reasonable accommodation, email elaine.scott at alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4317, Virginia Relay 711. # # # This news release is available at alexandriava.gov/101533. To change your subscription choices, click here to login . To request removal of your account, email enews at alexandriava.gov. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Tue Jan 23 22:34:32 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2018 17:34:32 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] Greater Alexandria Chapter meeting, Jan 25, 7pm Message-ID: <025901d3949a$57ab39b0$0701ad10$@gmail.com> Good evening all! This is just another reminder that we will hold our next meeting of the Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia on Thursday, January 25, at 7pm, in the fabulous club room of the Meridian at Eisenhower building, 2351 Eisenhower Ave in Alexandria! Below is the original save the date message I sent out a few weeks back, with the agenda for the evening. Please feel free to email or call me with any questions or concerns. See you Thursday! Brian R. Miller, Ph.D. President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia Good afternoon, This is a reminder that we will hold our next meeting of the Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia on Thursday, January 25, at 7:00pm, in the clubhouse on the 25th floor of the fabulous Meridian at Eisenhower Station building. The address is: 2351 Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314. I will send a detailed agenda closer to our meeting date, but some of the topics we will discuss include: *The Holman Prize - Could you be the next winner? *Audio description in your community - how to take advantage of this critical access service at the movies and the theater. *Quick tech tips - we will demo an app or device that can improve your life as a blind or visually impaired person. *Fund-raising ideas for the chapter - how to seek sponsorships, and build our profile in the community. And so much more! Ok, maybe not a lot more, but that's quite a bit already, don't you think? The Meridian at Eisenhower Station is conveniently located across the street from. Guess? The Eisenhower Ave Metro station! There are lots of places to grab a bite within a one block radius, so pick up a sandwich, some sushi, or a tub of Cold Stone Creameries goodness and come join the chapter for another exciting meeting. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call me at 703-785-9929. I look forward to seeing you there. Sincerely, Brian R. Miller, Ph.D. President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Thu Jan 25 13:55:27 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2018 08:55:27 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] Minutes from the October meeting Message-ID: <01be01d395e4$29740db0$7c5c2910$@gmail.com> Chapter members, My apologies, but I meant to send these out sooner. Please find attached, and pasted in below, the minutes from our last meeting in October, 2017, on which we should make a motion this evening. Thanks to Bonnie O'Day who took the minutes on behalf of Terri Nettles who was not able to attend due to illness. See you tonight! Brian Miller, President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia Meeting Minutes National Federation of the Blind of Virginia, Alexandria Chapter October 26th 2017 Present. Brian Miller, Tajuan Farmer, Bob Hartt, Bonnie O'Day, Frank Riley, John Bailey, Evelyn Valdez, Jeremy Grandstaff, Jerry Jayjohn, Susie D'Mello, Joanne Maldonado, Aaron Simoneau, and Wanda Taylor. (Terri Nettles was ill and asked Bonnie O'Day to take minutes.) A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as distributed. Bob Hartt stated that Bonnie O'Day was present but was not listed as attending. The minutes were approved as corrected. The agenda as sent by Brian was also approved. There was no treasurer's report as Andre had family issues. We will keep him and family in our thoughts. Smart 911. Joanne Maldonado, Manager of the City's Call, Click, Connect Service, presented on the Smart 911 Program. Under the new system, individuals can create a personal profile and the emergency dispatcher can review information before arriving at your destination. Those who create a profile will be reminded every six months via email or text to update their information. To protect your privacy, the personal information disappears from the screen once the dispatcher sees it so it cannot be copied or reviewed later. Profiles can contain as much or as little information as desired. If there are difficulties completing the form, you may call 703 746-4357. Over 400 people have created personal profiles since September 2017. You can put in multiple phone numbers in your account, such as home, work, or cell. You can also indicate that you speak a language other than English and that you have pets or service animals. You can also text 911 rather than call. You can also call in case of mandatory evacuation and the responders will know you don't drive. State convention. Evelyn explained that next week (November 3-5 is the 59th NFB State Convention. The Potomac Chapter is the host chapter for the convention. The hospitality festivities will launch on Friday evening with a western theme. Everyone must be registered for the convention to attend the hospitality night. She asked for volunteers to staff the table for the Alexandria chapter on Friday between noon and about 4"30 PM. John Baily, Brian Miller and Evelyn Valdez volunteered. Evelyn suggested that the chapter give out signature guides to those who visit the table. A signature guide that attaches to a keychain cost $2.50; those with a magnifier cost $2.00. It was moved and seconded that the chapter purchase 15 of each type. The motion passed. Talking Prescription System. Wanda demonstrated ScripTalk, a free prescription identifier. You must request the device from your drug store and they will order it from ScripTalk. Wanda will send the phone number that can be used to check to see if a pharmacy's prescriptions will work with ScripTalk. Other Business. Wanda described the toy drive for needy families that will take place from November 13 to December 13. Pick up for gifts is December 13-15. Evelyn is interested in collecting the toys from chapter members. The Alexandria Harmonizers are performing their holiday show December 2 and 3 at TC Williams High School. Brian will send a flyer to chapter members. There will also be an auction at the event. Do you Dream in Color? Ivy Fullerton, one of the movie directors, spoke by telephone. She described how the movie was initiated, asking the question how blind people dream. She and her co-director attended a camping trip with high schoolers who taught them about what it is like to be blind. They wanted to create a film that would inspire other blind and visually impaired youth, their families and teachers. They began the movie-making process in 2009 and it was released in 2015. The first 30 minutes of the movie was shown. Vision Zero. Jeremy described Alexandrians for Safe Streets, an organization that is advocating for implementation of a Vision Zero policy that is actionable and accountable. The goal of Vision Zero is to adopt policy that will bring the number of pedestrians hit by autos or bikes to zero. He asked members to sign a petition and to forward it to anyone who visits Alexandria. The goal is 1,000 signatures. He asked chapter members to attend a City Council meeting on November 16th. New Member. The chapter unanimously voted to accept Beverly Savoy as a new member. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:15 PM Respectfully Submitted, Bonnie O'Day, Substituting for Terri Nettles -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 10-24-17 Chapter Meeting Minutes.docx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Size: 23624 bytes Desc: not available URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Thu Jan 25 19:44:59 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:44:59 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] Food options for tonight's meeting Message-ID: <026701d39614$fc9f7fa0$f5de7ee0$@gmail.com> Good afternoon, I wanted to let the chapter know there will be some pizza and light snacks for those who aren't able to get dinner between work and the start of the meeting. There is also a subway sandwich shop 20 feet to the left of the front door of the building, and there is also the Uptown Market on the corner of the next block past the Meridian, in the Carlyle building. If you plan to grab a slice, donations are welcome, but by no means required. Thanks, Brian Miller President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Fri Jan 26 19:28:25 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2018 14:28:25 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] Washington Seminar Info on NFB-NEWSLINE Message-ID: <012001d396db$d68c9ce0$83a5d6a0$@gmail.com> Good afternoon, Plese find below an announcement about Washington Seminar from Scott White. 1/24/18 Next week, the blind of this nation are headed to DC next week for our annual Washington Seminar. Many of you will be visiting the capitol to speak with your legislators. The Washington Seminar is an annual event of the National Federation of the Blind to introduce the agenda of blind Americans--the priority issues requiring congressional attention over the coming year. The issues are selected from official positions of the Federation and may address concerns in the following areas: relevant civil rights issues; educational programs and services; rehabilitation of the blind for competitive employment; the operation of vending facilities by blind persons on public property; specialized library services for the blind; the organization and funding of federal programs; Social Security and Supplemental Income programs; and other timely topics. Approximately three legislative initiatives are chosen for priority attention during the Washington Seminar. We have posted the NFB 2018 Washington Seminar Agenda and Fact Sheets, including FAQs on NFB-NEWSLINE, under the NFB National Channel. To reach this information using the telephone access method, press one from the main menu for National Channels and NFB-NEWSLINE Information, then one for NFB National Channel, and then press five to read the NFB 2018 Washington Seminar Agenda, press six to read the NFB 2018 Washington Seminar Fact Sheets. To reach this information using the free NFB-NEWSLINE Mobile app, choose Publications, Publication Options, All Publications, and find the NFB 2018 Washington Seminar Agenda and NFB 2018 Washington Seminar Fact Sheets. We hope those of you traveling have a safe trip. If you are interested in how you can get involved, contact your local state NFB affiliate. A list of these can be found on the NFB.org website at www.nfb.org, slash, state, dash, and, dash, local, dash,organizations. Your NFB-NEWSLINE Team The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brianrmiller88 at gmail.com Sat Jan 27 20:45:04 2018 From: brianrmiller88 at gmail.com (BrianMiller) Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2018 15:45:04 -0500 Subject: [NFBV-Alexandria] Holman Prize Message-ID: <026a01d397af$b67ef180$237cd480$@gmail.com> Good afternoon, For those of you at the chapter meeting on Thursday, you will remember my brief discussion of the Holman Prize. I wanted to let you know the website is up and running again, so you can go to Holmanprize.org and check it all out! Here is a blurb about James Holman from the website: "James Holman (1786-1857) was a Victorian-era adventurer and author. The first blind person to circumnavigate the globe, he holds the further distinction of being the most prolific traveler in history, sighted or unsighted, prior to the invention of modern transportation. A British naval lieutenant, Holman lost his eyesight at the age of 25 to rheumatic illness, contracted while serving in the War of 1812. Since the illness also left him in chronic pain, an act of royal charity awarded him a pension and permanent residency in Windsor Castle. Expected to live as a cloistered invalid, Holman surprised the court by instead relocating to Edinburgh, where he became the first blind person known to attend medical school. In 1819 he began a lifelong pursuit of solitary travel, venturing unaccompanied through much of Europe and publishing an acclaimed memoir of his experiences. He remained almost constantly traveling, always solo, for the next four decades. When officials attempted to confine him to Windsor Castle-on the grounds that he was officially disabled-Queen Victoria's own physician prescribed freedom, testifying that Holman's still-painful condition responded best to "a continual change of scene and of climate," and warning that inactivity would cause his death. Holman traveled to all known continents. In Siberia he was accused of spying, imprisoned and exiled as an enemy of the Tsar. In Africa he participated in fighting the slave trade, helping to found what is now the nation of Equatorial Guinea (where the Holman River was named in his honor). Often greeted and celebrated simply as "the Blind Traveler," he published five volumes of memoirs, and was famous enough upon his death in 1857 to warrant a multi-page entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Yet Holman descended into a posthumous obscurity; the Britannica entry disappeared, as did his manuscripts and papers. No comprehensive study of James Holman emerged until 2006, when Jason Roberts published the award-winning biography A Sense of the World, subtitled How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest traveler." As I noted on Thursday, the book is available from NLS, and I highly recommend it - and I'm really picky about books! *smile* The website is accepting applications, and will do so through February. Please let me know if you have any questions, so long as it isn't, "What is the secret to winning a Holman Prize?" The secret is, there is no secret! Oops, did I inadvertently give it away? Well, we shall see. Thanks, and have a lovely Saturday! Brian R. Miller, Ph.D. President Greater Alexandria Chapter of the NFB of Virginia Sponsors names would go here. Help me fill this space with sponsors! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: