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

[Donna Hill]

Judith,
Good feedback, but I don't re write songs, especially those that are 
over fifteen years old.  This sounds like a new song to me.  Glad you 
like the sound.
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





Judith Bron wrote:
> Hi Donna, I ope you don't mind this feedback.  I'm not giving this to 
> hurt you, but I see something wonderful emerging from one of your songs.
> I just finished listening to "The Edge of the Line".  The tune is 
> catchy and one I can visualize people singing along with.  However, 
> the message is vague.  If it were expanded with ideas suchas:
> leaving a fancy house to shop in Wallmart
> Serving hot dogs and baked beans on Lenox China
> Driving a used VW beetle out of a garage where 3 cars once stood
> Shopping in thrift stores instead of Lord and Tailor
> etc.  This would capture the pain of recession much better.  The 
> upbeat line would be people still smiling despite...
>
> Like I said, I see potential in the melody and the singing is 
> fabulous.  To make it more relevant would help take it out of a 
> limitted venue.  Hope you're not angry, Judith
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>; "nfbp-talk" <nfbp-talk at yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 4:02 PM
> 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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