edited by Sue Lichtenfels
The announcement of products and services in this column does not represent an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its officers, or staff. Listings are free of charge for the benefit of our readers. "The Braille Forum" cannot be held responsible for the reliability of the products and services mentioned. To submit items for this column, send a message to info@acb.org, or phone the national office at 1-800-424-8666, and leave a message in Sharon Lovering's mailbox. Information must be received at least two months ahead of publication date.
Educational Award Winner
Cambium Learning Group recently received two BESSIE Awards from The ComputED Gazette. The BESSIE Awards recognize innovative technology programs that foster excellence in education. Kurzweil 3000 Version 12 won in the High School Special Education Software category and Classroom Suite won in the Upper Elementary Special Education category. Product details for these and other programs are available at www.cambiumlearningtechnologies.com.
USS Intrepid
The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City has a wide variety of access programs available. Sign language tours occur on a bimonthly basis. Open captioning is available on all videos in the exhibit space. The audio guide is available, as well as assistive listening devices with hearing loops. Audio-described guided tours with objects to touch are available monthly. Visitors may borrow large print labels for all permanent exhibitions. Text panels for "Heroic Journeys: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Stories" feature braille. Museum hours are: April 1-Oct. 31, Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. From Nov. 1 through March 31, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and holidays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is located on the west side of Manhattan on Pier 86, 12th Avenue and 46th Street. For more information, visit www.intrepidmuseum.org/access.aspx or call (646) 381-5163.
Got a sweet tooth?
Sweet Tooth has added many new items to its list of products including fudge, chocolate sauce and truffles. Don't worry, your old favorites are still available too, from clusters of all kinds, to molded chocolate, to braille chocolate bars and guide dogs with braille on them.
Braille bars come with a choice of various sayings including Thank You, Have A Nice Day, Happy Birthday, Love You, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. They weigh 4 1/2 ounces and can be made in milk, dark, white chocolate or sugar-free. The bars can also be made with crisped rice, nuts, peppermint or raisins. Guide dogs can be personalized with the dog's name or the owner's name and come complete with a chocolate harness.
Price lists are available online, in regular or large print and braille. Sweet Tooth is also on Facebook. For more information, contact Judy Davis via e-mail at judydavis12@rochester.rr.com or by phone at (585) 544-1853. Or visit the web site, www.acsu.buffaloedu/laurabai/sweettooth.
Computers for the blind
Need a computer that you can afford, that comes with a monitor, keyboard, speakers and a CD-ROM? The computer will be a refurbished model with one gig of memory or more, have Windows XP with a demo copy of Window-Eyes and the new screen reader NVDA-1, along with a demo copy of ZoomText, and more. This offer is only good in the United States and Canada. Call Lee Mann at (214) 340-6328 during business hours Central time.
Descriptive videos
Do you enjoy movies with audio description? Now you can enjoy more than 200 movies with the descriptive sound track on them, available on VHS and DVD. Call Ken Mann at (972) 530-2949 for a print and CD copy of the movie list. Offer only good in the United States and Canada.
Accessible spiritual resources
Unity's Message of Hope ministry offers free spiritual publications and resources to people who are blind or visually impaired. "The Daily Word" is a bimonthly magazine which includes feature articles, inspirational poems, and a daily affirmation for the current 60 days. This publication is available in braille and on audio CDs. Unity operates a lending library of its publications as well as braille and audio books. Many of these resources are also available electronically in braille-ready files for download to notetakers and digital book readers. To subscribe to "The Daily Word" or get a catalog of available library resources, call 1-866-421-3066; e-mail message-of-hope@unityonline.org; or visit www.unityonline.org. Discussions about the Unity publications and accessible library offerings are welcome via Facebook at www.facebook.com/messageofhope.
Sharing your story around the world
The Macedonian Association of the Blind publishes two magazines and one radio program about people with disabilities. The association is seeking individuals who would like to share their story in a biographical article or interview. If you would like to submit story ideas or know of anyone who would be an interesting interview, contact Adrijana via e-mail at adrijana.prokopenko@gmail.com.