Boundary Road by Ami Rao is going straight on my TBR list - a book set on a London bus, with all the possible drama that will likely involve and the glimpses of life outside the window - looks like it’ll be a Kindle read for me as it’s from a very small publisher called Everything with Words #bookstodon#blind#publishing@bookstodon https://www.everythingwithwords.com/books/boundary-road/
🛍️Research opportunity for blind people in the UK | ‘Greetings from our research group at the London College of Fashion! We are reaching out to you with an opportunity to be at the forefront of a study that aims to revolutionize the fashion retail landscape, making it more inclusive and accessible’
On the latest #ios with #voiceover how do you tell if your in private browsing mode with #safari? Apparently the address bar is a different color, but voiceover gives no indication of that. #blind@main
Eye Matter is a charity doing great things in the #blind and #PartiallySighted community in the UK. They are led by Suzie who is determined to get events going including online book groups, tech support and in person events. I very much enjoyed an audio described tour with a group at Tate Modern earlier this year and one at The Wellcome Collection last year. Eye Matter has recently been granted charity status and has just launched their website, so do have a look and spread the word ⬇️ https://www.eyematter.org.uk/about-eye-matter/ #Deafblind#charity@disability
A powerful essay from Dr M. L. Godin #Braille#blind#PartiallySighted#Deafblind#libraries@disability | ‘Nobody suggested I learn Braille, even though it was clear my vision was deteriorating. Adults seemed afraid of it, afraid of blindness itself. I know now that this is how ableism is passed from one generation to the next. But I didn’t have that word back then, so it’s not surprising that I accepted the stigma of blindness and refused to do or learn anything that might make me “look blind.”’
I am looking for suggestions for social/party games that can be played digitally over zoom (can also take suggestions for in person games) that are accessible for as many ppl as possible, especially blind and deaf players.
I find with digital social meetings it's really difficult to get a convo started until everyone has warmed up to each other, and social games are a great way to fast forward that.
Stuff like werewolf can be made more accessible with a GM or narrator that recaps everything that's happened every night (and a sign interpreter or simul-subtitling), but I don't know how well it'd work for the wolf-meeting parts. I do not want to arrange any kind of game meant for ppl to get to know each other that excludes some ppl from some of the roles.
A great opportunity for #blind and #PartiallySighted people interested in #theatre - take part in a research and development week, based in Leeds, UK @disability | ‘Otto Weidt is a new musical by Amir Shoenfeld and Caitlyn Burt. The show is inspired by the true story of Otto Weidt – a blind German man who employed visually impaired Jewish people in his brush and broom workshop and shielded them from Nazi persecution. The show features integrated “stealth” audio description, weaving visual information into dialogue, lyrics and soundscapes to create an elevated experience for audiences with any level of sight.’
I've just finished "all the light we cannot see". It follows two kids, german orphan, and a blind french girl, in parallel, while their lives get derrailed by the war. Somehow they manage to be true to themselves among the mayhem. Starts slow, but picks up speed. I loved It.
This project looks great! One of the artist involved is Aaron McPeake, whose work I enjoyed interacting with at an exhibition back in December #blind#PartiallySighted#Disability#art#sculpture@disability | Beyond the Visual: Blindness and Expanded Sculpture: ‘This three year project will feature a research season and public engagement events.
It will culminate with a landmark 2025 exhibition at the Henry Moore Institute, foregrounding work by blind and partially blind artists.
Working with Shape Arts, the project will generate the first international database of blind and partially blind sculptural artists.’ https://www.shapearts.org.uk/blog/btv-press-release
Dr Amy Kavanagh was one of the first blind people I found online when I became blind and I learnt a lot from her. it’s been great to see her journey to becoming a mum and here she is raising awareness in Stylist magazine so brilliantly as always! | “I still encounter surprise and shock that I’m #blind and a parent. I recently had a waitress ask with genuine confusion “is that your baby?” when I was in the middle of breastfeeding. I try to ignore these comments but find I do feel the weight of them on me, especially on those hard, exhausting days.” #PartiallySighted#disabled#Disability#motherhood@disability https://www.stylist.co.uk/people/motherhood-blind-mum-experiences/813403
This is a weird request, but I figure the worst I can get for it is silence. I'm totally #blind and have very bad hearing. To set up a device through its inaccessible software, I'm in need of a sighted person for about an hour and a half to two hours who can access a computer remotely, speaks and reads English, and can describe images and graphs. The person needs to be quite patient with follow-up questions, needs to be willing to repeat if needed, as well as be able to click on items and describe what happens on the screen. The person needs to be fairly detail oriented because some of the images appear to have arrows and other ways to expand them, according to the manual. Though I'm happy to be reasonable, I have no clue how much to offer as payment, this is my first request of this kind. I'm posting it because I know we have some blind people here who may be able to point me towards someone who has done this before and may be willing to do it for such a short period. Boosts welcome, indeed, they're appreciated. #hearingimpaired#software#A11Y#accessibility#remote
Honestly, next blind convention season, I want to see Apple and Google accessibility engineers get on stage and do a battle of the screen readers. Note that this is not a truth claim and any of the text below could be false, change, not work, or not even exist.
Audience member: Show us how you check your email!
Apple: Okay, on the home screen, opens mail with Siri, open a message, read it with a swipe down with two fingers, and closes mail.
Google: Easy! Open Gmail with Google Assistant, opens a message, reads it with a double tap and hold with two fingers, and closes Gmail.
Audience member: Navigate a thread of emails!
Apple: On the home screen, Turns the rotor to Braille Screen input, types "mail" and swipes right with two fingers to open Mail. Then, finds a conversation, opens it and turns the rotor to "messages" and swipes down through the thread.
Google: From the home screen, swipes down with two fingers to show a search box, double taps to begin editing, uses TalkBack Braille keyboard to type and open Gmail with a two finger swipe up, opens a conversation, and double taps on a message header to collapse a message to show the next one. And the next one.
Audience: Show us how the new NLS EReader works on the phone.
Apple (probably after a few point updates to iOS 17): Puts EReader in Braille Display mode, chooses to add a device, goes to Settings > Bluetooth on iPhone and double taps the EReader's Bluetooth name. Then has to work around some new bug in Braille support.
Google: Puts the EReader in USB Braille Display mode, finds a USB C to USB C cable, plugs the 2 devices in, and things work. A bit sluggishly, but they work.
Audience: Show us how we can learn what's new in the screen reader.
Apple: Opens Safari and goes to apple.com/accessibility, and has VoiceOver read the whole page.
Google: Opens TalkBack settings, double taps on "new features in TalkBack," and lets it read actually useful info.
So today when I get home, I'm gonna try resetting my Samsung phone, and seeing if that fixes the Google Assistant issue. Better than spending another $500 or so on another phone right now. Y'all why do I do this to myself. iOS works okay, and yet, here I am even messing with Android. Like maybe I'm a masochist or something? Same thing with Mac and Linux, although with WSL and Homebrew I don't feel the call of the foss as much anymore. Gosh I wish I could be one of the normal blind people that are just happy with their iPhones and don't even think a thought about Android. Sometimes.
So for blind Windows users, what mail client do you use? I'm kinda getting tired of Gmail, having to hear lots of stuff before each message, and having to turn on browse mode and arrow through all that to get to the message, all that. And Thunderbird is messy in 115. I might have to just get used to Outlook.
Anyone out there know of a list of accessible games for #android? I'm #blind and would like some entertainment in my life. I'll even be fine with having to install the apk's myself.
Welcome to my Friday cabinet of curiosities, a roundup of stuff I enjoyed this week! Today’s links feature rebel birds, touchable cartography, human-sized 3D printers and more
In 1835, a school for blind students began printing embossed learning materials, including an atlas of the United States. There are only four surviving copies, and one can now be browsed online