[stylist] Donna's on TV Monday! Here's a link if you can't tune in.

Sun Dec 21 01:39:28 UTC 2008

Robert,
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Donna  

-- 
For my bio & to hear clips from The Last Straw:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill

Apple I-Tunes

phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374

Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind
www.padnfb.org

Robert Newman wrote:
> Donna great newsletter! You know, not too long ago a member talked about how
> we as a Division might want to give out an award to which ever NFB
> organization has the best newsletter or  the top three- a contest of sorts,
> nevertheless, an award for a better than average creation. Maybe some day we
> can find a group of members who are interested in pursuing this.
>
> But hey, you are a multi talented woman.
>
>
>
> Robert Leslie Newman 
> Email- newmanrl at cox.net
> THOUGHT PROVOKER Website- 
> Http://www.thoughtprovoker.info
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Donna Hill
> Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 3:03 PM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org; nfbp-talk
> Subject: [stylist] Donna's on TV Monday! Here's a link if you can't tune in.
>
> Hi all,
>
> Here's my first-ever newsletter. Thought you might enjoy. I'm not sure if
> the pictures come through on our list, so it might be strange for those who
> have sight if they don't.
> Donna
>
> *Donna's on TV Monday, December 22^nd !*
>
> *There's a Link, if you can't catch it Live!*
>
> *Caption to Photo: Donna Hill, blind songwriter/recording artist and avid
> knitter, presents pink afghan with "Buddy Check" in Braille to Lyndall Stout
> at WYOU's studios in Wilkes-Barre. Photo by Rich Hill
>
> *In This Issue*
>
> * Donna & Buddy Check
>
> * Donna's Appointment to Post of Innovative Nonprofit
>
> * Quick & Dirty
>
> * Knit Wits!
>
> * Going to the Dogs!
>
> * Next Time
>
> * Contact Info
>
> *Donna & Buddy Check*
>
> Monday, December 22 at 7 P.M., TV-22 WYOU (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre CBS
> affiliate) is featuring Endless Mountains' singer/songwriter Donna Hill on
> "Buddy Check." Donna, a Lehigh Valley native, East Stroudsburg University
> grad & long-time Philadelphia area resident, is a two-time breast cancer
> survivor. If you miss it, it will be posted. Go to this link, look for "WYOU
> Buddy Check News" & click on the Play Media Button for December 2008 -
> screen reader users, "WYOU Buddy Check News" is a non-linked text:
>
> http://pahomepage.com/content/health_wellness/wyou/buddy_check
>
> Donna has been cancer-free for eighteen years. She found both tumors herself
> despite negative mammograms. "Buddy Check," a monthly segment on the local
> news, encourages regular breast self exam.
>
> "Not only did self examination save my life," says Donna, who started in her
> twenties after losing both grandmothers to the disease, "It also limited my
> treatment. Start checking now; Get familiar with what's normal for you. I'm
> so grateful to be alive and healthy now. In addition to living in a
> beautiful rural environment with my husband Rich and our black Lab, Hunter,
> I'm doing the best work of my life."
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Donna's Appointment to Post of Innovative Nonprofit*
>
> Born legally blind from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Donna, who plays guitar
> and piano, learned to use a computer with a screen reader several years ago.
> Her second cancer, diagnosed just after she had finished her third album
> "The Last Straw," ended her dreams of marketing herself as a songwriter in
> Nashville. Nonetheless, Donna is now using her talents as a writer, singer
> and speaker to improve understanding of and opportunities for all blind
> Americans. In July, she was appointed head of media relations for the
> volunteer-run nonprofit Performing Arts Division, National Federation of the
> Blind (PAD, NFB):
>
> www.padnfb.org <http://www.padnfb.org/>
>
> PAD supports blind entertainers through scholarships, subsidies, networking
> and mentoring. Funding comes from tax-deductible contributions and sales of
> the "Sound in Sight" CD, a multi-genre compilation of eighteen original
> tracks and covers donated by blind recording artists. Donna came to PAD
> after being asked to donate her song "The Edge of the Line," particularly
> meaningful in the current recession. Hear clips at:
>
> http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/padotnfotb
>
> "Strong media presence is a powerful tool for social change," says Hill, who
> worries about the seventy percent unemployment rate among working-age blind
> Americans, "It's made a big difference for other minorities, but there are
> few blind people in the mainstream media and virtually no blind women."
>
> *Caption to Photo: PAD President Dennis Holston & 12-year-old, blind jazz
> singer and Braille advocate Rocco Fiorentino (NJ) after Rocco's performance
> at NYC's Birdland jazz club. Unknown photographer.
>
> Donna is also concerned that only ten percent of blind kids are taught to
> read Braille. 2009 marks the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis
> Braille who developed the raised-dot code which remains the only tool
> offering blind people true literacy.
>
> "We don't consider sighted children literate, just because they listen to
> someone read to them," says Hill, "But, that is what most public school
> educators are essentially saying. Braille literacy is the major link among
> successful blind adults."
>
> *Quick & Dirty*
>
> Is this where she asks us for money, or to become volunteers or something?
>
> Well, we certainly wouldn't turn down either, but let me guess. Is this you?
> You'd really love to help but even ten bucks would be painful and you're
> going nuts with your current schedule. Here's a list of quick, no cost
> alternatives to cash donations
>
> * Link to PAD from your web site.
>
> * Forward this to people you know.
>
> * Tell your favorite nonprofits they can earn $4 for each $12 order they
> take for the "Sound in Sight" CD with no minimum or upfront costs.
>
> * I'm pretty sure I don't know what I'm doing at least half the time, so if
> you have a suggestion, let me know.
>
> * Hey, words of encouragement are always appreciated. It really is an uphill
> battle.
>
> * *
>
> *Knit Wits*!
>
> Yes, guys, you can skip this, if you like. On our camping trip through South
> Dakota, Wyoming and Utah this fall, I spent a lot of time knitting. Well,
> what else was I going to do, drive? I made several lap warmers and shawls,
> all in the same pattern -- Butterflies from "The Pattern Library: Knitting"
> edited by Amy Carroll, 1981 (US publisher, Ballantine Books). I already had
> it memorized - all 14 rows. No matter that it doesn't look as much like
> butterflies as big seashells. Each butterfly, which is on a lattice-work
> background, is a solid fabric of reverse stockinet with 6 ribs which start
> out separated by 3 stitches and ultimately come together in a wrapped
> cluster. The ribs are made by knitting through the back loop. There're a lot
> of "k 1 - TBL" stitches in the lattice as well and just as much decreasing
> either by knitting 2 together or using slip, knit pass. I couldn't help but
> wonder why sometimes you knit 2 together and sometimes slip, knit, pass?
> After a thousand miles or so, I realized that the reason was to keep the
> "TBL" 
> rib stitch on top of the stitch that it was being combined with. If the
> "TBL" stitch comes first, you use slip, knit, pass. If "TBL" comes second,
> knitting the two stitches together gets the "TBL" on top of the finished
> stitch! OK, tell me your latest knitting revelations. I'll use the best one
> next time and give you credit.
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Going to the Dogs!*
>
> * *
>
> **Caption to Photo: Donna's 5-year-old Lab guide dog, Hunter, takes a
> well-deserved rest. Photo by Rich Hill.*
>
> *A few weeks ago, Hunter and I were walking cross-country on paths through
> the fields near our house. With him guiding me, I often . well, space out
> and get lost in my thoughts of new songs and stories as well as the physical
> joy of walking.*
>
> * *
>
> *Suddenly, Hunter stopped, and I was brought back to my senses. It seemed
> like a strange place to stop. Fortunately, more than thirty-five years of
> using guide dogs had taught me something. The procedures for occasions like
> this that I had learned during my four visits to the Guide Dog Foundation
> for the Blind (Smithtown, NY) popped into my head.*
>
> * *
>
> *First, I stuck my left foot forward and swept it around in front of us. 
> This would have revealed a ditch or a branch across the path, but I 
> found nothing. I heard an animal in the brush and thought Hunter may 
> have stopped just to look at it. I encouraged him to go forward. He didn't*
>
> * *
>
> *O.K., what's next? I lifted my right arm forward and swept it through 
> the air at head level. I was sure that there weren't any overhanging 
> branches, and I was right. Was he staring at a rabbit?*
>
> * *
>
> *Next, I inched ahead and as my foot swung forward, it hit .*
>
> * *
>
> *A wire? A really long extension chord about ten inches off the ground? 
> Ah, yes, I remembered. They were looking for natural gas deposits in the 
> area. The company doing the seismic testing had draped wires all over 
> the place. We carefully stepped over the obstacle and continued on our 
> way. How could I have thought he was goofing off?*
>
> * *
>
> *"Good boy, Hunter! You deserve to bask in the leaves!"*
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Next Time*
>
> * *
>
> Donna's visit with US Congressman Chris Carney! Till then, have a joyous 
> holiday season!
>
> * *
>
> * *
>
> *Contact Info*
>
> For house concerts, other bookings and information about PAD or 
> acquiring Donna's writing services:
>
> Donna Hill, Head of Media Relations
>
> Performing Arts Division, National Federation of the Blind
>
> (570) 833-2708
>
> dwhill at epix.net <mailto:dwhill at epix.net>
>
> RR #3 Box 15-C, Meshoppen, PA 18630
>
> For Donations to PAD, Make checks payable to:
>
> "National Federation of the Blind, Performing Arts Division" & send to 
> above address, or use PayPal at:
>
> www.padnfb.org <http://www.padnfb.org/>
>
> Published 12/18/08 by D.W. Hill
>
>
>   

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