Tuesday Topics

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...

Tuesday Topics will once more take to the various platforms where it can be heard. By then hurricane Erin will be long past concern but there will probably be other depressions to depress us by then. How should people who are disa4 handle emergency preparedness. What do those words even mean! What ought we to do in order to get ready for an emergency. Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wild fires an...

Tuesday Topics, for the first time, experienced technical issues at the beginning and at the end. Our podcast, when it becomes available, will include as much as we can. We were disappeared six minutes before nine PM and that cannot be recovered. We will be back bigger and better than ever next week and apologize to everyone for the difficulties we had this week. From 7 to 9 PM on Tuesday August 1...

Tuesday Topics will be exploring new technology. What were some of the new items seen for the first time at our convention this year? What did people buy and why? Can we see any trends in the new technology? When there are several products that are somewhat similar, how should we evaluate the differences? We would welcome it if some tech people came to talk about new products. We are more interest...

Virtually every program on ACB Media has had Scott Thornhill on as a guest. Tuesday Topics which will be live at 7 Eastern on August 5 is now finally rectifying that situation. Obviously we will spend some time talking about Scott's past and his vision loss. We will also ask that he share with us some of the information he provided to the Board of ACB at their pre-convention meeting. What is engag...

On JULY 29 at 7 PM eastern time Tuesday Topics will once more take to the internet. Once again we will be asking both our team and you to take a leap into your past and share with us the most amazing thing that has happened to you in your life. Is there one event or occurrence that has been just the most amazing and life-changing thing that has ever happened to you? That is our question! It could...

For the second week in a row we will consider the convention. there were several folks who wanted to speak but didn't get a chance. We will also explore some of the questions that came up in the first show in more detail. There are some serious questions about how the convention should be handled! Should we separate the business of ACB from the convention and just do programs and training? Should...

Tuesday Topics will once more take to the "air" on Tuesday July 15 from 7 to 9 PM. I hope our whole crew will be with us to explore with you the good, the bad and the ugly of the American Council of the Blind convention. What were the high points? What could have been better? Were virtual arrangements, effective? How were tours? What about in person experiences? How was the hotel? What d...

As was suggested at the end of our last program, we are going to complete our convention preparedness show by looking at the state of ACB through the eyes of ACB'S current Vice Presidents. David Trott from Talladega Alabama and Ray Campbell from Springfield Illinois will be our guests. Ray has decided not to run for the Board this time. He has served his full terms as Second Vice President of ACB....

The ACB convention is rapidly approaching and we thought it might be fun to invite a few of ACB'S special interest affiliates to tell folks about what they have planned for the convention and other things they are doing. It is our plan to have the Braille Revival League, Library Users of America, Families and the Council of Citizens with Low Vision. Remember our convention extends over two weeks....

It has been a while since Tuesday Topics looked at artificial intelligence. We know that it is becoming more and more crucial for people who are blind. Meta glasses, copilot, and new components on new iPhones are just some of the changes that are happening. Blind Information Technology Specialists are sponsoring a three day training program in Dallas at our convention. Jeff Bishop, BITS President,...