Audio Blogger working again

Sorry for the interruption. All's well again at Audio Blogger. - David Rothman

Audio eBook Expo--with Webcast

From Lori Bell--who can be contacted for further information:

An Audio eBook Expo will be held Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will be available via free webcast or audiocast, which you can reach via a link on the home page of the Alliance County Library System. Main sponsor is the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center.

Speakers include: Tom Peters of TAP Information Services; Steve Potash of Overdrive, Inc.; Jenny Levine of Metropolitan Library System; Jane Chamberlain, Bloomington Public Library; Judy Dixon, NLS; Sharon Ruda, Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service, and Diana Sussman, Southern Illinois Talking Book Center.

Topics range from cutting edge digital audiobook programs for all types of libraries to ebook management systems to an overview of MP3 players and handheld devices; and the NLS digital talking book program for the visually impaired.

Introduction to 'Election 2004': The Polarization

A paraphrase of a Winston Churchill observation would opine that democracy is a terrible system of government but it is the best we have at this time. He no doubt would be confirmed in his opinion were he alive to witness election 2000 and now election 2004.

The polarization of the country is fierce. The poles are showing the candidates running neck in neck. Trying to sort out the claims and counter-claims is exhausting and mentally frustrating. Teasing out the particles of truth from the media-merry-go-round of spin would require a team of neutral researchers that I simply don't have. Bill O'Reilly claims he is spinfree.

Each candidate has views and personal traits that I can admire and views and traits that I abhor.

Bush

Pro: Seems genuine, very defined morality, proLife, stands up for what he believes in, attempting to bring freedom to Afghanistan, took the blame for things that had begun in the Clinton administration such as the bursting of the .com bubble, allow for the investing of work pay in a private Social Security account. Just make sure that the stock market has cleaned up its accounting practices so that no one invests this money in another Enron!

Con: Can be too strictly fundamentalist in his views, discounts the purity of Canadian drugs, could have handled the pacificcation phase of the Iraq War much better, should do more to stop the Arab militias who terrorize tribesmen in Sudan, help rework some of the entitlement programs for the blind by merging SSI with SSDI and By merging Medicaid with Medicare. A nation having a trillions-of-dollars economy should not make anyone live on $563.00 a month. Corporations should be penalized if they snick out of the country and set-up shop in a tax-haven. I suspect they pay much less taxes than they should under the guise that taxes are big for their stock holders. The environment needs work. There should be several wilderness corridors linking wilderness preserves. There was talk several years ago of linking Yellow Stone to another park, maybe Yosemiti or an area in the Yukon. The German model of recycling should be endorsed. There should be higher miles-per-gallon ratings for American cars and sports-u's, a study to transform AmTrack into a meg-lev train system possibly by privatization should be sponsored. Term limits in the Congress and even on the Supreme Court should be endorsed. Congressmen and women should throw in their retirement lot with the same Social Security everyone else gets, much more money needs to be allocated for the NCAM of the NIH to determine which alternative or complementary healing modalities are valid and Medicare should then be able to pay for them.

While this next item is not a direct con against President Bush, I decided to mention it as it has taken me a long time to come to terms with it. In 2001, when President Bush took office, there was media buzz about his wife and that fact that she was a librarian. I wrote to her in March of 2001, imploring her to broaden and expand her focus on advocacy of children's literacy to include advocacy for the disabled wishing to be librarians. Up to that time, I had found little assistance and mentoring for and by the blind for those blind people wishing to be librarians. See my articles in the ASCLA Interface Spring 2002. I received a response in June thanking me for my interest in children's literacy. No mention was made of anything to do with blind librarianship. But then most of my other emails and letters to many well-placed people went unanswered.

Kerry

Pro: Worked hard at Yale. Agonized over Vietnam. Believes in stem cell research, has 20 years of experience in the Senate, is Pro Choice, and believes in government assistance.

Con: Believes in partial birth abortions, supports strict gun control, helped overfund "The Big Dig," seems to be very slightly to flexible at times and can speak in a convoluted style that can purport to say something while actually not, chose a trial lawyer to run with him, and claims they will fix or cap medical claims litigation, seems to want the good feelings of Western European allies even when it might not be in America's best interest. I don't think I could be a Roman Catholic with some of the views he has knowing the Church was opposed to them.

Thanks for tuning in. I do not pretend to be a political pundit and may have actually gotten some of my information wrong. Please let me know if I have. I am just exercising my free speech option.

Best,
David Faucheux

Detail: Recently, I emailed Bill O'Reilly's web site with a receipt pending notice asking for information about the audio version of The O'Reilly Factor for Kids and received a notice that my email had been deleted without having been read. I did receive a one-month free trial offer for a premium membership on his web site, but no one could explain how after a month, I could disengage my credit card number from the billing system for despite a free membership, you had to enter your credit card number and not some trial ID number system. A shame as I wanted to see what premium membership would bring. He is the only radio talking head with the exception of Jim Bohannon, who seems to have disappeared off KPEL in Lafayette, that I listen to.

Text by David Faucheux

Ambrose discussion tonight

From Tom Peters:

Hello, Everyone. This is just a reminder that tonight beginning at 8:00 Eastern Daylight Time, 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, and 5:00 Pacific we will have our monthly "Meting of the Minds" online book discussion. Tonight we will be discussing Stephen Ambrose's valedictory book, To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian.

A link into the online meeting room has been pasted below:
http://www.tcconference.com/lib/?auditorium&nopass_field=1

Although we always try to limit these discussions to one hour, tonight we will want to be particularly mindful of the time, because the final presidential debate begins at 9:00 Eastern, 8:00 Central. There may be an informative juxtaposition between this book and the presidential debate.

I hope you will be able to join us tonight, and I hope we attract some other folks to what promised to be a lively discussion of an interesting book.

By the way, next month we will be discussing a comic novel, Where Do You Stop?, by Eric Kraft. That discussion will be on Wednesday, November 10, 2004 beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, and 5:00 Pacific.

Audiobook guide

"AudioBooksGuide.com brings you the most concise guide to everything that encompasses the world of audio books. Our goal is to keep users informed on the latest deals, special offers, releases and background information in the happenings of audio books." - AudioBooksGuide home page, via ebook news.

Among other things, the home page includes a tip on how to speed up audio books in Windows.

eBookworm to interview Lori Bell--expert in library needs of disabled

Lori Bell, a key organizer of an ALA-honored project for the disabled, will be the featured guest on Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. Central Time on eBookworm. She is director of the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center. From eBookWorm moderator Tom Peters:

Lori Bell is very active in a number of innovative digital talking book, virtual reference, and online programming initiatives for blind and visually impaired individuals, including MIDTB, Project HEALTHY, Project Unabridged, and others.

To hear the chatcast, click on the eBookWorm link and follow the directions in the chatcast item below.

Works of Ambrose, Orwell, Eliot featured in chatcasts

Historian Stephen Ambrose's reflections, George Orwell's 1984, T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets--those are among the October topics of the Meting of the Minds Online Book Discussion Group and other chatcasts for booklovers. Below are events and details, from Meting moderator Tom Peters. The discussions use audio chatcast software, which downloads automatically and does not contain spyware. You'll need Internet Explorer, an audio card and loudspeakers or headphones, nothing more--except for a mike, if you want to ask questions by voice rather than typing them. While the discussions are organized for the blind and other print-challenged people, anyone can participate.

--Wednesday, October 13, 2004 beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, and 5:00 Pacific: The Meting group will be discussing the book To America: Personal Reflections of An Historian by Stephen Ambrose. In this 2002 bestseller Ambrose intersperses his personal story with reflections on American history. His topics include the transcontinental railroad, World War II, Native Americans, Vietnam, civil rights, and women's rights. Also describes well-known persons such as Washington, Lincoln, Lewis and Clark, Nixon, and Eisenhower.RC 55747, 2 cassettes, read by John Polk.

--Tuesday, October 19, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain, and 11:00 a.m. Pacific: T.S. Eliot's "Four Quartets". Join the a poetry group for a casual poetry discussion and readings from Four Quartets. This program is part of the LBPH Cyber-Dialogue Series sponsored and conducted by the Cleveland Public Library's Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Note: This program will last approximately two hours.

--Wednesday, October 20, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, noon Mountain, and 11:00 a.m. Pacific: Sounds of LC. Leaves are rustling, ghosties and goblins are about, speeches are being made, and music is always in the air! Join Library of Congress tour guides for a sampling of the rich audio collections on the web site. Note: This program requires RealMedia and Windows Media Player.

--Thursday, October 21, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 10:00 Central, 9:00 Mountain, and 8:00 Pacific: George Orwell's "1984". Join LBPH for an online book discussion of George Orwell's "1984." Retired John Carroll University Professor and "futurist" Dr. Mary K. Howard will provide an introduction to kick-off the discussion. For those Ohio residents needing a copy of the book, contact LBPH at 216-623-2911 or 1-800-362-1262. This program is part of the LBPH Cyber-Dialogue Series sponsored and conducted by the Cleveland Public Library's Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Note: This program will last approximately two hours.

A more detailed schedule of online events for October and beyond can be found at http://www.opal-online.org/programs.htm.