YouTube video on blind artist Esref Armagan

Kes: but of course, it has no descriptive track, so I got kind of bored listening to the New Agey music and didn't make it to the part with the two professors who discuss their work with blind people and cognition.

Posted to the Art Beyond Sight mailing list
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo

Prof. John Kennedy sent this link a while back -sorry about the delay
in passing it on.

"Please let the accessibleimage community know about the Premiere of this documentary in Berlin, Tuesday May 12th
It focuses on Esref Armagan with interviews of Pascual-Leone of Harvard and Kennedy of Toronto among others."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPrxbHtw7pc

Famous Blind and visually impaired artists,scientists, writers +Visually impaired photographers

1. Here's the link to the Facebook page for visually impaired photographers
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=133294703352148&v=wall

2. Visually impaired photographer features in Nokia commercial

A visually impaired photographer features in a brand new TV
advertisement for the latest Nokia camera phone. Gary Waite, a
photographer from Croydon stars in the advertisement as he wanders
around Blackpool taking photos with the camera phone. Waite unearthed
his talent for photography with the help of charity PhotoVoice.
PhotoVoice was set up to empower disadvantaged communities across the UK
and the world through photography. The charity works with amateur and
commercial photographers from Leeds to Lebanon on various projects that
highlight and capture the plight of disadvantaged communities.
Waite participated in the Sights Unseen project for the charity teaching
visually impaired and blind people sensory photography techniques. Waite
said:

“I’ve been taught to use my other senses to take pictures.
“For instance, hearing and smelling the sea air and the sound of the
roller coaster then, like every photographer, taking as many shots as
possible.”
from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-12596142

3. And here's a few of my favorite entries from a list of famous blind and visually impaired people
http://www.foroyaa.gm/modules/news/article.php?storyid=7305
( continued below cut )

New tactile book on the lunar landscape

Posted to the Art Beyond Sight mailinglist

NASA Unveils a New Lunar Book for the Visually Impaired

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - NASA will unveil a new book for blind and visually impaired readers at a media event and reception hosted by the
NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) at 6 p.m. PDT on July 18 at NASA's
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.

The book "Getting a Feel for Lunar Craters" was created with the NLSI and features tactile diagrams of the lunar surface designed to educate the blind and visually impaired about the wonders of Earth's moon. David
Hurd, a space science professor at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, Pa., is the book's author. He and tactile engineer John Matelock began creating tactile astronomy tools after a student with a visual impairment signed up for Hurd's introductory astronomy course.
Cassandra Runyon, a professor at College of Charleston, Charleston, S.C. and Hurd previously produced "A Tactile Guide to the Solar System with Digital Talking Book" for NASA.

Hurd and students from the California School for the Blind, Fremont, Calif., are scheduled to attend the unveiling.

"NASA's Lunar Science Institute is committed to the development of resources to bring lunar science into the world of those who cannot see.
'Getting a Feel for Lunar Craters' is one giant step for humankind, making lunar science visible through touch and sound," said Yvonne Pendleton, director of the NLSI.

The NLSI is a virtual organization that enables collaborative, interdisciplinary research in support of NASA lunar science programs.
The institute uses technology to bring scientists together around the world and comprises competitively selected U.S. teams and several international partners. NASA's Science Mission Directorate and the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington, funds the institute, which is managed by Ames.

For more information about the NASA Lunar Science Institute, visit:
http://lunarscience.nasa.gov

Robot assists mute paraplegic

as part of the "Robots for Humanity" project collaboration between Willow Garage
http://www.willowgarage.com/blog/2011/07/13/robots-humanity
and Georgia Tech's Healthcare Robotics Lab.