Tuesday Topics

It may seem to some that the topic we have chosen this week is simplistic and doesn't involve a lot of discussion. We are hoping that the topic of literacy will provide two hours of spirited discussion. Is a blind person who only reads by listening fully literate or not? Is a person who listens actually reading? What role does braille play in determining whether an individual is literate? What abo...

All of our topics stem from the time of year. First we will talk about daylight savings time. Is it a good idea? What does research say? Is it different for people who are totally blind because our rhythms are not affected by light? Nevertheless is it a good thing or not? The day of our program is March 17 which happens to be St. Patrick's day. Have you had interesting experiences on that day? Did...

ACB has deadlines! These are coming up pretty soon! They relate to things that will happen at the ACB convention. It is a tradition of this program that, at this time each year, we invite folks to tell us about what is on offer. We know we will hear from the Durward K. McDaniel First Timers Committee who will tell us about a chance for several people to come to our convention free. They will actua...

Two weeks ago we spent time looking at new technology that is making sporting events more accessible. How are things now? Are they better than in the past or worse? Do most blind people listen to sports on the radio or use television? How do you think radio sports have cha'nged over the past few decades and why? Sports have been a huge part of the lives of many people who are blind! Tell us how yo...

we will explore romance on Tuesday Topics. We have talked about dating before but this time we thought it would be interesting to go a little further. How do most relationships between people who are blind get started? Is it on line? Is it because of meetings locally? How did you celebrate Valentine's day? What are some of the most romantic things you have done or have had the opportunity to recei...

I think particularly people who are born blind often assume they know a lot more about how sports work than they actually do! I know that I take formations in football for granted and don't have a good understanding of how players are placed in cricket even though these are sports I follow. It will be interesting to see how two folks who have been blind all their lives (I think) experience new tec...

Tuesday Topics will take a big risk! Lots of our shows depend on hearing from guests. We sometimes invite several guests to join us! This time we are making a different sort of invitation! We are inviting affiliates to tell us what they do to build membership! Virtually everybody knows about BITS and its hugely successful effort to increase its membership. We heard last night that it's important f...

This is the time of year when our affiliates are getting ready to send in membership lists so we thought it might be a good thing to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly about how we are doing at the local, state and national level at encouraging new members. It's generally accepted that our membership numbers are falling. Why is that? Are there particular reasons it is happening to ACB? A fe...

It is still January so many people will still have a pretty good memory of what happened last year! We thought it would be fun to ask you to think back to last year and tell us about some cool things you found last year. We would like to hear about the best book you read! We want to know about the best movie you saw! (It doesn't have to be a new one!) We want to know about what you think the best...

Tuesday Topics will encourage folks to consider an issue that could potentially create some interesting disagreements. As we take to the internet and a range of devices too numerous to mention, we will explore together a question that everybody has thought about but many have avoided discussing! Many people attempt to persuade us that there is only one sort of person with visual impairments. That...

Usually on Tuesday Topics we attach our predictions to other elements like "how to keep your resolutions" or something similar! This time we are flat out prognosticating! We are gazing blindly into the future with the hope that something from the chaos of what is to be will trickle back to us! I would argue that these times are as hard as any time ever during which to look ahead! The art...

Those of you who have been long time listeners to our show can probably guess what our topic is. At the end of each year we like to review the events that those of us on the team and you think are the most significant things that have happened during this year. We are pretty loose about what can be included but want to talk about blindness things, technology, movies, books and whatever else seems...

There appears to be a whole range of ways that the brain reacts to picturing something with one's eyes closed. I listened to a recent program where a condition was described that intrigued me. The term I heard was "afantesia" but that appears not to be the correct name of the condition. Essentially people who have this condition see nothing in their brains when they close their eyes and...

Last year we featured a play with blind actors from our ACB Sacramento chapter. We hope to have them on in the future to share their latest project! On our show this time we feature a group based in Pennsylvania interested in "improv". Sue Lichtenfels from Out of Sight Improv will join us for the next Tuesday Topics. Through virtual experiences, Out of Sight Improv enables blind and sigh...

Tuesday Topics will once more tackle an issue that we think deserves atffention. We live in polarizing times! Politically our nation is perhaps more divided than it has ever been. Within our very own organization it sometimes seems that civil discourse is replaced by uncivil recourse to inappropriate messaging. Are there ways to defuse this level of irreconcilability? Can we find ways to interact...

From 7 to 9 PM on November 11 Tuesday Topics will join in the celebration of Assistive Technology Awareness Month. I am not sure that this is its actual title but there have been a number of posts announcing it exists! What is assistive technology? Is it different from access technology? Where does adaptive technology fit into the picteaure? We will explore definitions but, more importantly, we wi...

From 7 to 9 PM on November 4 Tuesday Topics will consider fund raising as it applies to ACB and other blindness groups. ACB has a range of ways to raise money. Members contribute a lot; sponsors represent a viable option; fees for services is a new potential approach. Every nonprofit in the world is finding it harder and harder to persuade people to give! Where does ACB stand? Is it harder in the...

Tuesday Topics will explore halloween experiences. Did you trick or treat as a child who was blind? Did you like it or not? Did you take your children trick or treating? How was that? How do you handle halloween these days? Have you ever either tricked or been tricked at halloween? How aware are you of what is going on in your neighborhood with halloween? These are just some of the questions we wi...

We are now on the two hudred and twenty-ninth show in the current series of Tuesday Topics. That is quite a number and I need to thank everybody involved for enabling us to be around as long as we have. It is difficult to come up with topics that are new and exciting and your help deciding on subjects is certainly appreciated! It is my plan to try to find some guests to help us understand the curr...

Tuesday Topics concentrates on employment once more. October is Disability Employment Awareness Month (DEAM), and during this Tuesday Topics program, we consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of having a designated month to focus on this issue! We spend much of our time, however,  on the connections between artificial intelligence and the employment of people with visual impairments. Wh...

In the past Tuesday Topics has explored the White Cane Laws! It is once more October and White Cane Safety Day is October 15. We would like to explore how the law has operated; what value does White Cane Safety Day have and for whom; and how we might make things better for pedestrians who are blind! Are pedestrians who are blind as common as they used to be? Where is the White Cane Law publicized...

We have unfinished business! We spent time identifying many of the myths that people who can see have about those of us with visual impairments! We promised to explore what we should do about these myths!  Do public service announcements work? Should we do training ourselves at the local level? Has the Americans with Disabilities Act had an effect? Is this issue something we just can't fix? There...

THIS week  we want to explore what you think is the most egregious myth that is out there about people who are blind! There are lots of them but we thought it would be fun to put together a list of our top candidates for the myths that people who are not blind have about people aro are! Some of those myths make us better than we are! Some clearly point to areas where we don't measure up! I could l...

It is generally recognized, though it isn't said often enough, that many people who are blind are overweight and sedentary. Recent research and statistics suggest that people with vision loss also experience a range of mental issues which limit their ability to function well in a complex society! We want to explore some of the resources that are available to deal with both of these areas of concer...

We are just past Labor Day as this edition airs! We have devoted lots of programs to employment and it didn't surprise you that we offer another one. I think this one will be different! We have explored in the past what our Employment Committee is doing! We have talked some about the barriers to employment that exist but we haven't heard a lot from people who are seeking jobs! We also haven't invi...