[stylist] A New Member

[Shelley J. Alongi]

HI Angela, I had brb bilateral retina blastoma when I was a baby. I had lost 
my sight by the time I was two years old. Apparently it's a text book case. 
Good night the kitties want me to sleep with them or is it the other way 
around? Merry Christmas and to all a good night. Smiles!
Shelley J. Alongi
Your Lifelong Pampered Chef Consultant With Bells On!
Home Office: (714)869-3207
Start your holiday shopping now with great quality tools from the pampered 
Chef
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/shellbellskit
**
Read my latest instalment of Flirting with Monday
http://www.storymania.com/cgibin/sm2/smreadtitle.cgi?action=display&file=newtitles/AlongiSJ-FlirtingWithMondayChapter14.htm
**
To read essays on my journey through Metrolink 111 or other interests click 
on 
http://www.storymania.com/cgibin/sm2/smshowauthorbox.cgi?page=&author=AlongiSJ&alpha=A

updated Dec 7, 2008
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angela fowler" <fowlers at syix.com>
To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 11:12 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member


> Shelley, just out of curiosity, were you born totally blind, or no? I 
> know,
> I know, we all get tired of that question.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Shelley J. Alongi
> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 10:50 PM
> To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>
> HI John, I usually don't have blind characters in my stories because I
> respond to the world around me and whatever grabs my attention. A large
> percentage of people in the world aren't blind so I reflect what the world
> has. Sometimes I imagine myself as one of my characters who's not blind. 
> If
> I have a blind character it's because I'm struck by something as part of 
> the
> story not because I want a blind character.
> Shelley J. Alongi
> Your Lifelong Pampered Chef Consultant With Bells On!
> Home Office: (714)869-3207
> Start your holiday shopping now with great quality tools from the pampered
> Chef http://www.pamperedchef.biz/shellbellskit
> **
> Read my latest instalment of Flirting with Monday
> http://www.storymania.com/cgibin/sm2/smreadtitle.cgi?action=display&file=new
> titles/AlongiSJ-FlirtingWithMondayChapter14.htm
> **
> To read essays on my journey through Metrolink 111 or other interests 
> click
> on
> http://www.storymania.com/cgibin/sm2/smshowauthorbox.cgi?page=&author=Alongi
> SJ&alpha=A
>
> updated Dec 7, 2008
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
> To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 1:28 PM
> Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>
>
>> Shelley:
>>
>> Thank you for your thoughtful response.
>>
>> If I may ask, why don't you usually have blind characters in your 
>> stories?
>>
>> John
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Shelley J. Alongi
>> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 2:55 PM
>> To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>>
>> Hi John, Shelley here; my writing is what I would call sentimental,
>> informational stories where people deal with issues and resolve them, or
>> just have fun. I don't usually include blind characters in my stories. I
>> am
>> a blind person in the world benefiting from the work of others and 
>> helping
>> where I can, but my stories don't usually include blind characters. I do
>> have one story sitting somewhere with a blind character dealing with just
>> becoming blind. I would say in all cases that my stories are based on one
>> or
>>
>> more elements of truth though you would have to be intimately familiar
>> with
>> the circumstances from which I drew the idea for each story. By the time
>> the
>>
>> story emerges I don't even recognize what the element was that created 
>> it.
>> It may be something as simple as a person's height or profession. It 
>> makes
>> my writing interesting; makes me do a lot of research and ask a lot of
>> questions. I've written articles for the local newspaper and I've been 
>> the
>> subject of articles, too. The only money I've ever gotten from writing 
>> was
>> from the two times I placed in the NFB Writers' contest. I don't write 
>> for
>> money; I just write for fulfilment. At the end of a day I can look back
>> and
>> see what I've accomplished.
>> Shelley J. Alongi
>> Your Lifelong Pampered Chef Consultant With Bells On!
>> Home Office: (714)869-3207
>> Start your holiday shopping now with great quality tools from the 
>> pampered
>> Chef
>> http://www.pamperedchef.biz/shellbellskit
>> **
>> Read my latest instalment of Flirting with Monday
>>
> http://www.storymania.com/cgibin/sm2/smreadtitle.cgi?action=display&file=new
>> titles/AlongiSJ-FlirtingWithMondayChapter14.htm
>> **
>> To read essays on my journey through Metrolink 111 or other interests
>> click
>> on
>>
> http://www.storymania.com/cgibin/sm2/smshowauthorbox.cgi?page=&author=Alongi
>> SJ&alpha=A
>>
>> updated Dec 7, 2008
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
>> To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 9:36 AM
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>>
>>
>>> Judy:
>>>
>>> Hey, I would love to read your book!  I'm curious what you are thinking
>>> of
>>> as your options for publishing it.
>>>
>>> Yes, I read in Braille.  I learned Braille when I was seven.  Although I
>>> was
>>> not even legally blind then and did not keep reading Braille on my own,
>>> this
>>> early exposure must've made picking it up again at thirteen a most 
>>> smooth
>>> experience for me.
>>>
>>> As for grants, what I was referring to are individual grant for artists
>>> that
>>> arts organizations and state arts programs confer to the winners from a
>>> pool
>>> of applicants in various categories.  Most often, the grants come with
>>> virtually no strings attached, and you can just say it helps you to take
>>> time off from work to focus on your project.  In other words, you can 
>>> buy
>>> food with it, pay the rent, pay off debts, buy a nice winter coat to
>>> replace
>>> your old rags, whatever.  Some use it for travel, to stay in a Spanish
>>> villa
>>> for a month, or to pay for registration at a conference or workshop.
>>> Some
>>> use the money to buy new computers and supplies.  Minnesota happens to 
>>> be
>>> the state with the second highest number of grants and value in dollars
>>> for
>>> individual artists.  The first is New York.  But most states should have
>>> at
>>> least two grants you could apply for: The state's council, board,
>>> whatever
>>> for the arts and the local chapter of VSA arts.
>>>
>>> Fellowships are similar but tend to mean a lot more money.  Grants range
>>> from one to ten thousand dollars.  Fellowships are a full year's income,
>>> ranging from twenty five grand to two hundred fifty--the latter is at 
>>> the
>>> very top, the MacArthur "Genius" fellowships that pay half a million
>>> dollars
>>> for two-year fellowships.  Those are given to bestselling authors or
>>> winners
>>> of the Pulitzer Prize.  Thus, grants are usually for what they call
>>> "emerging" writers, those who have published from zero to two books.
>>> Then
>>> the lower rungs of the fellowship world are for those beginning to
>>> establish
>>> their reputations after three books.
>>>
>>> Anyway, that's what I was talking about.  Now, for the type of grant you
>>> are
>>> thinking about, I am no expert.  However, I've done work in nonprofit
>>> fundraising, and most healthy nonprofit organizations get eighty percent
>>> of
>>> their raised funds from private donations, fifteen percent from grants,
>>> and
>>> five from corporate donations or sponsorships.  You can tell right off
>>> that
>>> an organization is misguided or in bad shape if most of its money are
>>> from
>>> grants.  So if you want to set up a new program, I would advise that you
>>> look into fundraising instead of grants.  Further, it would be wise to
>>> set
>>> up a foundation or trust account, so that the donations you get won't
>>> vaporize.  What's the point of working hard to get donations only to 
>>> blow
>>> them away almost instantly?  The motto is also that you are not raising
>>> funds, but friends.  Make friends, maintain friendships above all, and
>>> the
>>> money will come naturally.  Send thank-you notes, add them on the 
>>> mailing
>>> list for the newsletter, organize an annual event geared specifically 
>>> for
>>> your cause's supporters and friends.  Contract with someone with a
>>> certificate from the Association of Professional Fundraisers.  Those
>>> people
>>> know what they're doing.
>>>
>>> Just some thoughts!
>>>
>>> John
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Judith Bron
>>> Sent: Thursday, December 25, 2008 9:57 AM
>>> To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] A New Member
>>>
>>> Welcome John!  I'm assuming that you do most of your work in braille.  I
>>> am
>>> getting ready to find a publisher for muy first book, "Lethal
>>> Disclosure".
>>> Lori is helping me in this pursuit.  I'm also working at our local
>>> Independent Living Center as a mentor.  My supervisor, Peter Groos and I
>>> are
>>>
>>> also looking for grants to start a program for the newly physically
>>> handicapped.  Peter suffered irreversible spinal cord damage in an
>>> automobile accident and is paralyzed from the waist down.  You mentioned
>>> that you have a background in receiving grants for worthwhile projects.
>>> Can
>>>
>>> you share your wisdom on getting grants?  Thanks and happy holidays!
>>> Judith
>>>
>>> Bron
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "John Lee Clark" <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
>>> To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2008 11:27 PM
>>> Subject: [stylist] A New Member
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hello!
>>>>
>>>> I recently subscribed to this list, on the suggestion of Lori Stayer. 
>>>> I
>>>> would have liked to lurk for a while before introducing myself, but so
>>>> far
>>>> the list has been awfully quiet, too quiet even for someone who is 
>>>> deaf.
>>>> So
>>>> I am going to dip my toes in here.
>>>>
>>>> To introduce myself briefly: My name is John Lee Clark, and I am a
>>>> native
>>>> of
>>>> St. Paul, Minnesota.  I was born deaf to an all-deaf family and so
>>>> American
>>>> Sign Language is my first language.  I gradually became blind in early
>>>> adolescence, just as my father did and my younger brother did.  After
>>>> graduating from the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf--on the other
>>>> bank
>>>> of a former river across from where the Minnesota State Academy for the
>>>> Blind is--I studied briefly at Gallaudet but jumped up in love, not
>>>> fell,
>>>> with Adrean, a deaf girl from North Carolina.  We got married fast and
>>>> moved
>>>> to Minnesota.  We've been married for ten years now and have three 
>>>> sons.
>>>> Currently, I am the head of a new service that provides accommodations
>>>> for
>>>> deafblind people using video relay service.
>>>>
>>>> As for my literary pursuits, my wife and I ran for six years a small
>>>> press
>>>> devoted to signing community literature both in English and ASL.  But 
>>>> it
>>>> could not support our family, so we've had to turn to other sources of
>>>> income.  I've published many essays, but it's through my poetry that
>>>> I've
>>>> won the most recognition--awards, grants, fellowships, all that.
>>>> Recently,
>>>> my chapbook of poems, Suddenly Slow, came out from Handtype Press. 
>>>> I've
>>>> also done some independent scholarship on the literature of the deaf 
>>>> and
>>>> deafblind communities.  In March, Gallaudet University Press will come
>>>> out
>>>> with Deaf American Poetry, which I edited and which is the first
>>>> definitive
>>>> text of its kind, covering nearly two centuries of poetry by Deaf
>>>> Americans.
>>>> I am nearly done with anther anthology, this time of writings by
>>>> deafblind
>>>> people all over the world and since 1820.
>>>>
>>>> This should suffice for now!  I would love to learn about who's on this
>>>> list, so please do introduce yourself.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks!
>>>>
>>>> John
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>> 11:49 AM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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