ACB Tuesday Topics: Recent Episodes
Paul Edwards, American Council of the Blind
Tuesday Topics is a weekly exploration of a single topic from a blindness perspective brought to you by the American Council of the Blind. Co-hosted by Paul Edwards and Rick Morin, this two-hour podcast features panelists and live questions and comments from the zoom audience. We hope to fully explore any topic we cover! Divergent opinions are encouraged!
This week we are going to explore a word we hear a lot but what does it actually mean. That word is advocacy! How does it apply to people who areblind? What are issues we should be advocating for these days? Are there issues we should not be advocating for these days? How should we approach advocacyfor an issue? We will identify one in the first hour and spend part of the second hour deciding how best to advocate for that particular issue. Hopefullythat will give folks an idea of how to put together a campaign to advocate for a particular thing which you and your affiliate or chapter could consideridentifying.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This time we are goingto spend some time exploring relationships. There is a good deal of controversy as to whether relationships work best if both parties are blind or if oneof the two folks involved can see! What do you think! Where do people who have partial vision fit in? Is a relationship between a blind person and a personwith partial vision the best of all? It's not good enough for you to tell us which is best! Tell us why! What makes for problems with each of the differentkinds of relationship? If you were free and could choose your next partner, would you choose somebody who is blind or partially sighted or fully sight-enabled?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
In many respects, we are the most fortunate generation ever. We have access to more information than we can possibly use and we are at the beginning ofa revolution that will make the data we can acquire now seem infinitely tiny and paltry. Before you turn away in disgust, this is not another explorationof AI though we are more than a year since we last spent time on it and lots has changed. It is an exploration of the impact of another phenomenon on thelives of people who are blind or have low vision. Be My Eyes, Envision and AIRA are all programs that fill an important niche in our lives. They allowus to get information either from other humans or from artificial intelligence entities or, from a combination of the two. What has their impact been onthe world of people who are blind? Have these devices mad people who use them more independent or more dependent? Have they encouraged experimentationor created reliance on people for help that has limited technological exploration? In the case of AIRA, how does their business model appear to be structured?Can they afford to pay their employees over time? Does their model depend on selling AIRA to governments, retailers and others? Is there another modelthat would work better? What would we lose if Aira were to go away?
Obviously these questions constitute no more than the tip of the iceberg. Join us as we put personal assistance software and people under the microscopeof Tuesday Topics!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
It is common for Tuesday Topics to start something we don't finish and our last program was no exception. We were able to define many issues, provide somehypotheses for why they happen and confirm that some things need to be done. However, we did not get to the place where we could finalize actions thatcan be taken or decide for, sure if actions should be taken. So our program next week will explore actions that can be contemplated to deal with the factthat many things we have asked for are not being used as much as we might like. Perhaps that's okay! If it's not, what should we do about it? Who is responsiblefor doing anything? Individuals, local chapters, state affiliates, the national organization, local communities, states, the Federal government? We willlook at voting, theaters, movies, transit, braille and other components of full inclusion. Join us! Your opinions are crucial!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Last week we asked you to come up with topics we could consider for future programs. I have to say that the participation of our regular listeners wasjust a mite limited. Let me thank those who were there and who participated in our show. Brian Charlson actually came up with the idea for our next Topicand I think it is an interesting one.
Initially, the topic emerged because Brian was concerned that so many plays where we ask that audio description happen are so poorly attended. Why is that?Does it have to do with COVID? Does it have to do with the income of people who are blind or low vision? Does it have to do with discomfort with paratransitor other ways of getting around?
Are theaters the only place where we have become tortoise-like? Are we content to wait at home till accessible movies hit the television screen? Have welessened our social outings now? Will our chapters more and more meet via Zoom? Do we use accessible pedestrian signals enough to justify their expense.How about announcements on buses? Where do Uber and Lyft fit into the system?
At the heart of this issue is whether it matters! Should we be concerned that we are asking for more and involving ourselves less? If the answer is yes,what should we do about it? Do our chapters have a responsibility to work on these issues?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
You are crucial for Tuesday Topics tonight!Usually by Wednesday mornings our podcast is available from your usual sources.
So far this year our crew has tackled serious subjects like history, employment, awards and leadership building. We all decided two things after the showthis week. First we decided that we would take a break from earthshaking matters of moment and focus instead on you! What are your plans for your vacation?What do you like to do during the Summer? Are you a baseball fan? Do you listen to your team on radio? Do you have some specific memories of that? Whatelse do you like to do these days for fun? What was the last game you played?
If none of these subjects turn you on we have another option for you! For our second hour we think we are going to make it your turn! You get to call inand talk about anything you like within reason! We are not interested in the mating habits of South African cockroaches though maybe you can persuade usit's an important subject. However we really do want to open the mike for you to raise any question you like with us! Your comment or question can be earthshakingor just about you! You are the boss!
We really need you to be ready with topics for Tuesday. Only two out of the five producers of Tuesday Topics can sing. The other three of us are a dangerto ourselves and others and should not be given the chance to destroy ear drums. Save us from ourselves by calling into Click the link below to join thewebinar:
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We will be exploring two topics that arerelated. We will finally complete our history of the relationship between ACB and NFB and then we will begin to explore what the philosophy of ACB is andhow we can make it better known. A former President of ACB and a former Federationist, Mitch Pomerantz, will join us as a panelist. How have the changeswe have observed in the Presidents of the NFB impacted ACB? What are the areas where we now differ and what are the elements that we perceive are the same?Why is it that people believe that the Federation does it all and ACB lags behind? Is it true?
What is the philosophy of ACB. We have talked a lot about how the Federation characterizes its beliefs. ACB certainly has some beliefs and attitudes andvalues. What are they? Every one of you reading this should think about what those values are and share with us what you think they are.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Earlier this year Tuesday Topics did a program on the history of blind advocacy. As is very common on our show, we did not finish. We got past the formationof the American Council of the Blind but that still leave us with over half a century to cover. Sheltered workshops, NAC, the ADA, the independent livingmovement, affiliate rights and responsibilities, the growth of special interest affiliates, ACB Radio, Facebook, Twitter, the internet, audio description,and much more. The history of all of these elements is perhaps different from what you might think. Join us to talk about the past as prelude to today.Episode Notes
Notes go here
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Remember to join Tuesday Topics as we explore how ACB encourages new leaders!More than that there is a mentoring program which is now in its second year of operation. I was a part of the first year and I look forward to guests whowill tell us how year two is going. Tuesday Topics hopes that former fellows, first timers and some of the cohort of the first year of the mentoring programwill come and tell us what these programs have meant to them.
It is hard to know how to develop leaders. It is hard to know how to develop diversity. It is hard to know even how to get new people to become a partof ACB. Tuesday Topics will have the honor of exploring all these issues next program.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This may be one of the most significantTuesday Topics in our history. We will once more welcome guests from our ACB Employment Committee and will extend invitations to two other people who mayor may not join us. I will tell you as this message proceeds who they are. Two components of our program will involve looking at data that the EmploymentCommittee has put together from a recent survey. Second we will explore together what the role of the ACB Employment Committee ought to be and how we canforward their efforts at the state and national level.
At the ACB convention last July, we had a presentation concerning the "big data" project as it applied to people over the age of 65. It was clear thatthe data that was developed under the leadership of the Vision Serve Alliance under the aegis of extremely well-qualified statistical experts providedinformation about this population that painted a picture that was more detailed and nuanced than any data we have had at our disposal till now. That datawhich includes national information and state details allowed us to see just how precarious a condition many of our seniors who are blind or have low visionare in. That project represented phase one of the data collection process. Less than a month ago data became available for phase two which looked at someof the same issues for people who are blind or have low vision aged 18 to 64. The data that was collected came from surveys that were done in 2019 so asto avoid being influenced by COVID.
The state of Florida bought access to this data for the nation and for the sunshine state. We may look at the Florida data for the sake of comparison butour primary goal will be to explore the national findings of phase two which seriously contradict some of the commonly held beliefs about employment, educationand health for this population.
We will send panelist invitations to Director Robert Doyle and to Lee Nasehi, Executive Director of the Vision Serve Alliance. Neither is required to bethere but we wanted to be sure they both knew they were welcome to join us.
I believe that the data in this report sheds much new light on a population where we have tended to generalize about rather than measure using credibledata. When we apply ourselves we discover much that we did not know and much that asks us to rethink many of the beliefs we have taken for granted.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Next Tuesday is Valentine's Day Eve. We thought it would be a good time to explore relationships. How have folks with visual impairments fared with internetdating sites? Which have you tried? How have they worked? If you don't use the internet, how do you start relationships? Are there tricks you can sharewith us? Are you looking to date people who are blind or people who are sighted or either will do? Have getting started with relationships become harderor easier post-pandemic?
Are people who are blind better at relationships than folks who do not experience vision loss? If so, why? If not, why? What are the characteristics of"blind" dating?
This discussion would be very boring if you weren't with us to share your experiences.
Episode Notes
Notes go here
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
One of the joys of being a part of the American Council of the Blind is that, in addition to having state affiliates as members, the organization has welcomedthe formation of more than a score of organizations formed based on an interest or a set of skills. Over the past couple of months there is no questionthat the affiliate most often garnering our attention was BITS. Blind Information Technology Specialists has been around since the early 1980s but, inits earlier history, it was a group that was mostly interested in welcoming computer programmers. Some years ago the organization changed its name andbecame much more open to having others join its ranks. Over the past six months or so, the President of BITS has been Jeff Bishop. He has a long historyof service to ACB. He has been a Board member. He currently serves on the Board of Publications. He has been a leader in the effort to expand ACB Mediais the host of ACB'S "main menu" program.
Jeff will be joining Tuesday Topics partly to tell us about three initiatives that BITS is making that will certainly positively impact ACB and its members.I have no intention of talking about any of them here. There have been announcements but I want you to hear from Jeff not just what they are but why theyare being offered. Perhaps these new initiatives will alter the way that special interest affiliates operate to get new members. Perhaps the approach willhave lots of long term consequences for ACB that we can't even foresee yet.
Interesting though it will be to talk about BITS, we at Tuesday Topics indicated to Jeff that we wanted more from him. He has worked at Microsoft and isprobably among the most knowledgeable people we know with regard to access technology. So we thought we would ask him about the current state of tech forpeople who are blind! We will probably also ask him to look ahead to explore with us what the consequences of the AI revolution might be for folks whoare blind. As we explore the organization, BITS, and the knowledge that Jeff brings to the table, we will, I hope, also get a chance to explore who JeffBishop is. Where did he grow up? What are his interests and passions? What made him leave Microsoft? We are looking forward to a chance to showcase BITS,access technology and Jeff Bishop next Tuesday.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Not so occasionally, Paul Edwards makes commitments that he completely forgets to put on his calendar. That is what happened several weeks ago when theAwards Committee asked for an opportunity to present on Tuesday Topics.
Instead of continuing our session on the history of blindness and services to the blind, we will be joined by members of the Awards Committee of the AmericanCouncil of the Blind. Every year we spend a session exploring what awards are available and how you can nominate somebody for one of them.
We end up doing a lot more than that because we also explore a little who the awards are named after and what contribution they made to the ACB.
Join us for a chance to learn about past winners, current awards and what the Awards Committee is thinking about for the future. We hope we can persuadesomebody from the Board of Publications to join us as well to talk about their awards.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Occasionally it's a good thing to look back at where we have been. Acb began in 1961; the NFB began in 1940; there were blindness organizations as longago as the 1880s. As we approach Martin Luther King Day let's spend a little time looking at some of the history of work for and programs for the peoplewho are blind in the United States and, perhaps, in other parts of the world as well.
What were the very first kinds of laws that operated for people who are blind? How have they changed? Who were our allies as we began to look at beingmore than just beggars or a burden? Where did the Federation fit in? Why ACB?
Put simply, we think it is time to look at the beginnings of change for quite who are blind. We are a tiny minority but we have been powerful and amazing!Join us and help us celebrate where civil rights really started!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
A new year will be with us by the time Tuesday Topics returns to ACB Media One at 7 PM on January 2 2024. As we suggested on our last presentation thetopic this time is 2024. What will the year be like? How will it differ from 2023? How will it be the same? Are there particular things we are lookingforward to seeing? As with our last presentation we will begin with the big picture and look at the country, the world and, if appropriate, beyond ourplanet.
Then we will focus on blindness issues. AFB has just published a five year plan. What might that mean for the future? The National Library Service continuesto change and may actually know about a potential new location. The American Council of the Blind has just hired a new person to handle legislative affairsand it is likely that we will have chosen our new Executive Director by the time we get to convention this summer. There is new technology promised thisyear. Will it happen? There was new tech promised last year that didn't materialize.
Next year is a leap year, an election year, and a year that starts with several conflicts going on unabated! Can we find ways to step back from the abyssor will other flash points occur. What do you think? Join us and share your notion of what the next twelve months will bring! At the very least join usso you can argue with the conclusions we arrive at!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
As we suggested on our last presentation thetopic this time is 2024. What will the year be like? How will it differ from 2023? How will it be the same? Are there particular things we are lookingforward to seeing? As with our last presentation we will begin with the big picture and look at the country, the world and, if appropriate, beyond ourplanet.
Then we will focus on blindness issues. AFB has just published a five year plan. What might that mean for the future? The National Library Service continuesto change and may actually know about a potential new location. The American Council of the Blind has just hired a new person to handle legislative affairsand it is likely that we will have chosen our new Executive Director by the time we get to convention this summer. There is new technology promised thisyear. Will it happen? There was new tech promised last year that didn't materialize.
Next year is a leap year, an election year, and a year that starts with several conflicts going on unabated! Can we find ways to step back from the abyssor will other flash points occur. What do you think? Join us and share your notion of what the next twelve months will bring! At the very least join usso you can argue with the conclusions we arrive at!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week we will be doing the first of two programs surrounding the new year. Wewill not be holding Tuesday Topics on Boxing Day because that is a part of the Christmas holiday when many of our listeners will have better things todo than listen to us. We have a kind of tradition on Tuesday Topics though which we will follow again this year.
We do one show where we explore the year that is ending and that's what we will do during this program. What was the year like! What was the best movie?Did it win an Oscar? How about music? Books? And what about our country and our world? How did they do? We might just have a little to say about AI I suspect!Perhaps,in fact, AI might be the way we transition from the general to the more specific. How has the year been for people who are blind? What has happened? Whathasn't happened? How has ACB changed in 2023? How was our convention? There must have been some less than wonderful things that happened in the blindnessfield this year. What were they and how have they impacted us? The four of us will have our opinions but so will you, our listeners. Plan to weigh in onthe year that was and be sure to plan to be with us the next week to look at the year that will, by then, be!
Episode Notes
Notes go here
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
One of Tuesday Topics's frequent contributors is DeAnna Quietwater Noriega. I have had the privilege of knowing this fine lady for over thirty years andam proud to call her a friend. DeAnna has just released her second book which is about growing up as a Native American. Here is a little of the blurb abouther book.
DOGWOOD BLOSSOM: GROWING UP NATIVE
AMERICAN
"In Dogwood Blossom, DeAnna Noriega beautifully invokes a simpler time and her Native American heritage. Poverty and oppression are no match for the strongbonds among the members of this hardworking and loving family. The life lessons here will resonate with readers young and old. Immerse yourself in thecaptivating, heartwarming world the author creates, and you'll be left yearning for more."
Growing up is the topic of this book but it is by no means all that DeAnna is about. We will talk about her experiences as a student, a wife, a mother,a care giver and, perhaps most of all, a Native American person.
I am truly looking forward to the opportunity of exploring the life of a totally blind person who has accomplished so much and who gives so much back aswell.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
There are lots of laws that are passed that have created accessible traffic signals, accessible voting machines, the availability of braille materialsfrom counties or the state and announcements on buses. These are just some of the accessibility elements that we have "demanded" or, at the very least,come to expect. More and more municipalities are saying that they don't know why they bother because people who are blind are not making use of the accommodationsthey make available!
Is this true? What should we do? Do our chapters, state affiliates, special interest affiliates and our national organization have a role to play? Shouldwe continue to ask for more accommodations if we have no intention of making use of them? Clearly there are many more things we could use! County gymnasiacould provide accessible machines! Parks and Recreation departments could provide accessible devices such as tandem bikes and special programs for peoplewho are blind or have low vision! They do exercise programs for others! Programs at libraries operated by the county should at least be advertised in waysthat people who are blind can easily find out what is happening! County web sites are sometimes very good and sometimes awful. The same applies to stateweb sites. Should telephone access be allowed to replace web access as it does in at least one state.
Why is it that people who are blind or have low vision seem to shy away from using hard won privileges? Will advanced AI make many of the inaccessibleweb sites irrelevant? Should we ask states or counties to pay for AIRA or something like it?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Our first topic will explore how people who are blind feel about the patronizing attitudes of other people. We have all had it happen! Who helps you dress?Isn't your daughter lovely to take care of you! You actually work????? Clearly we don't love these situations but how should we handle them! Are thosewith us partly responsible? Should we expect them to stand up for us? Should we argue and get the person who is with us upset?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Our topic will explore how people who are blind feel about the patronizing attitudes of other people. We have all had it happen! Who helps you dress?Isn't your daughter lovely to take care of you! You actually work????? Clearly we don't love these situations but how should we handle them! Are thosewith us partly responsible? Should we expect them to stand up for us? Should we argue and get the person who is with us upset?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics will once more consider questions raised by the Voter Task Force. There will be representativesfrom Resolutions, the Constitution and Bylaws group and the Voter Task Force. At the beginning of our first meeting with this group on October 24 we reada document that the Task Force is using for a number of community calls. We have looked at some of them but still have lots to look at. We will look atthe resolutions process and perhaps talk a bit about changes to the Constitution. We will explore how many people should be allowed to ask for a recordvote and I am sure there will be lots of other byways that we will travel down as we explore how the American Council of the Blind will do business overthe next several years. We are glad on Tuesday Topics to be a part of exploring where there may be consensus for proposing changes next year and lookingat ways that may not involve constitutional change but could involve altering the convention rules.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics will consider fear on ACB Media One. It isn't often that Tuesday Topics actually occurs on Halloween.As a result we thought it might be fun to explore some questions we think operate around Halloween for people who are blind. Have you had Halloween experiencesthat were cool? Have you had experiences that were awful? Were there things at Halloween that scared you? Halloween aside, what are you as a person whois blind afraid of? Do you watch horror movies? Do they scare you? Are there things you just won't do because you are a little afraid?I know that I feel that there are things that make me really scared! I will share my fears and hope you will share yours! After you finish trick or treating,treat us to your company as we explore Halloween and elements associated with it!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We will be joined by the voting task force to explore where ACB needs to go from here.For the last few years ACB has had a system where every member in good standing, whether at a convention or not, can cast his or, her or their vote whenACB is trying to make decisions. We have also maintained the ongoing validity of affiliate voting. It is perhaps true that affiliate voting is fairer thanit has ever been and is more reflective of the actual desires of members. That, like so much else, is up for debate! Where do we go from here? If we haveone man one vote, do we need affiliate voting? How significant is it that people who have never attended an ACB convention have the power to determinethe outcome in any election? What are the new rules of the road for candidates? In the old days there was a feeling that those who attended the conventionsknew the folks who were running and knew what they had done in the past! How much do folks who do not attend conventions know? Does attendance at conventioneven matter any more? Do we need to change the rules about who can run? We know some things about last year, the first clearly autonomous hybrid convention.We know that the results of in-person voting and affiliate voting were remarkably similar. We also know from our history that there has been only one votein our history that I have been able to establish where the results of the affiliate vote was different from the results of the individual vote. Theseare not the only issues. Join us as our Voter Task Force asks us to think about a series of questions surrounding ACB'S democracy.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics invites folks from our Audio Description Project to tell us about what is happening with ADP and our upcoming festivities! We will be live on ACB Media One and there is information below on joining us via Zoom or from Clubhouse.We will once more have the privilege of welcoming back the co-chairs of our Audio Description Project Carl Richardson and Kim Charlson. In the past they have been able to tell us lots about what is going on with audio description now. They will of course be primarily interested in being sure we know all about the upcoming Audio Description Gala and, as usual, they will have lots to report on how that is coming together.In addition to Kim and Carl, we hope we will be joined by Dr. Tabitha Kenlon who is ACB'S Audio Description Project Coordinator. We have not yet had the privilege of having Dr. Kenlon on Tuesday Topics and hope we can find out more about her and what specific priorities the ADP project is highlighting now.As usual, we expect to have some time for you to raise questions on all things audio description. These three folks will be glad to help answer those.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We have been threatening for the last couple of programs to spenda program discussing White Cane Safety Day and its related laws. It now appears that the time for that has come! All over the country agencies and organizationsof people who are blind cooperate to create awareness of folks who are blind on White Cane Safety Day. What impact do these activities have? What impactdo White Cane Laws have? Can anyone provide evidence of a single driver who has been stopped for violating the law? When accidents happen, do a preponderanceof the drivers get fined for inappropriate behavior? Is there any truth to the notion that all accidents involving people who are blind are blamed on thepedestrian? What good does it do to have a maximum charge of a misdemeanor no matter what the outcome of the accident is?These are just some of the questions surrounding a law that is different from state to state. In virtually all cases these laws have been on the bookssince the 1930s or 1940s without change. What changes would we propose? Are we ready to do away with White Cane Laws? If so, do we replace them with somethingelse? If we read some of the laws they actually suggest that people who are blind do very strange things to identify themselves in the street like holdingtheir canes up in the air! Is that relevant or okay? We need your input on a law that is perhaps being taken for granted or ignored now! The President
no longer issues a White Cane proclamation. It now has to do with employment.Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics has welcomed ACB'S Employment Committee in the past and are happy to welcome some of them again this week. Peter Altschul, Melanie Sonohui and Carrie Muth will be our guests. The committee has been very busy since we last had them on. They have been creating podcasts, collecting and spreading job announcements and, now, they have released a survey that they would like us to know about and obviously they would like us to participate by completing the survey as well. To start our Tuesday Topics next week then, we look forward to seeing some members of the ACB Employment Committee. It could be that they will have enough to fill our whole program. In case they do not, there is one additional topic we plan to at least have on tap. October is Disability Employment Month. What does that mean? We will ask our Employment Committee guests but we are asking you as well. How should the month be used? What do we want to highlight? We hear about special and positive characteristics of disabled employees! What are they? Are they valuable? Are there other ways we could promote the employment of people with disabilities? What are some of these? We know that discrimination plays a part! What should we do about that?Clearly there are a huge number of people who are blind or have low vision who are not working! Surely that ought to be a major concern of all of us! If you ran the zoo, how would you change this unacceptable state of affairs!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Remember to join us for Tuesday Topics! have a guest who runs a cruise assistance business and exhibited at ACB this Summer!We are heard From 7 to 9 PM on Tuesday September 26 cruising will be served on Tuesday Topics. You are invited to sit at the captain's table and bring with you stories both droll and drear of your experiences on the rolling sea, preferably aboard a ship! How is cruising for people who are blind? Did you have a special group with a sighted person getting folks from place to place? How was the cooperation of the shipping company with whom you dealt! How was accessibility on the ship? How was it in ports of call? What was your favorite thing about cruising? What did you least like? Would you cruise again? We are encouraging folks who book cruises to join us and tell us what they have to offer!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics will explore people who are blind and college. What was it like for you to decide to go to college. Was it intimidating? Did you live in the dorm? How was that adjustment? Were you treated well and fairly at College? What was the worst thing about college for you? What was the best thing about college? Was college worth it? What would you change about your college experience at college if you could?There are lots of questions and issues. There are lots of memories attached to the experience of higher education.Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We have a habit on this program of biting off more than we actually chew. This happened with our last program. We ended up spending a lot of time talkingabout going back to school and really did not get to Labor Day. Even though it's a little late, we thought it might be of interest to see what people thinkof Labor Day as a holiday. Is it something that folks value because of unions? Have you been a member of a union? How did that go for you? Did Labor Daybecome a day you spent watching telethons for folks with disabilities? Probably the most famous one was the one done by Jerry Lewis! Was Labor Day justthe day that heralded the beginning of the pro football season. Were there special family activities that went on on Labor Day?Last week we looked at going back to school. Usually just after Labor Day college semesters used to start. If Labor Day doesn't take all of our time itmight be interesting to talk about how ready you were for the college experience. Was the service you received from your college good? How was gettingbooks? Was going to college a little scary? How was living in a dorm? Were your professors understanding and helpful? What was the worst thing about collegefor you? What was the best thing about college for you? Is college easier or harder today than it ", say, twenty years ago? Why so?Obviously we may well find ourselves going in entirely different directions where post-secondary education is concerned and that's just fine! It also mayhappen that we will be talking about college on the show that follows this one if our Labor Day and Fall discussion prospers.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
What memories do we have about going back to school? Many people who are blind went to schools for the blind. Was going back a happy thing or was it sad?If you were mainstreamed, was the end of the Summer a good thing or a bad thing? What was your Summer like when you were growing up? Were you lonely? Werethere things you looked forward to each Summer?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
It is our intention to make this edition of Tuesday Topics an occasion where those who knew Oral Miller who died on August 6 could come and share some memories of his life and work. Oral lived to the age of ninety and made contributions to people who are blind in a variety of ways. He was the fourth President of ACB. He served only one term because he chose to go to work for ACB as its national representative where he served till 1998. During the last of his tenure he was ACB'S Executive Director. He was active in the Blind Bowling Association, Ski for Light, the United States Association of Blind Athletes and as part of the International Blind Sports Association. Many members of ACB can tell us stories about Oral and we hope that many will join us to share your memories of one of ACB'S most important figures.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We will spend time exploring some Federal actions. Most of our time will be spent exploring the adoption of a final rule by the Architecture and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB). This Board has been operational for more than half a century and is responsible for overseeing regulations that assure that people with disabilities are fully included in society through the adoption of rules and regulations that determine how buildings will be built and how access through roads and other elements of the built environment will be made usable. This particular final rule goes into effect on September 7th and is known as a final rule. This final rule governs how people who are walking or using wheel chairs get access to sidewalks and roads and roundabouts and street crossings and so on. The rule is commonly called "PROWAG" which stands for Public Right Of Way Accessibility Guidelines. I am certainly not an expert on this subject but we have invited two people who are much more knowledgeable than the Tuesday Topic team to join us. Becky Davidson and Chris Bell will join us to help us understand this new rule. We have also invited a representative of Polara, a company that manufactures accessible traffic signals to bring us up to date on their products. What does it include that specifically involves people who are blind? What problems does it seek to solve? Has it made things perfect for pedestrians? Is there more that we need to do? Who do the regulations cover? How are they enforced? What else do we need to make things better? We will also, if we have time, talk about some other Federal developments that could well be significant for people who are blind and we will spend a little time telling you how regulations work and how you can do your part to make them better!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
It is a common thing for Tuesday Topics to bite off more than it can chew. We did it again last night! We thought we were going to spend an hour talking about our experiences with radio and then move on to other things. Not so much! We spent a truly fun two hours romping together through the past of radio and us! If you missed the show, catch the repeats or the podcast! It was great fun! However, oh dearly beloved as Kipling would say, we have unfinished business! There is an amazing resource out there called internet radio and there are an amazing number of ways to access it. We want to spend some time talking about this phenomenon that makes tens of thousands of radio stations from all over world available to us! Of course, among the many available options are the ten channels of ACB Media! There are apps that aggregate huge collections of radio stations. Some do it by country; others by genre; and still others collect everything to do with their topic! You can use a note taker, Alexa, Google Home, or apple's smart speaker! You can use your phone, your computer or actual internet radio receivers! What are your favorite internet radio stations? How do you listen? What apps do you use and why? The Victor Reader Stream is about to change how it handles internet radio. Is that a good thing? Will Humanware come onto our show and give us a sneak peak at what they plan? Probably not but, of course, they are welcome! Is there a particular kind of music you like? Do you miss old time radio? Is our media three not enough for you? Would you like to hear news from other countries without the static of short wave? The internet has created a space where people can and do run their own stations and where people who are blind have become proprietors of radio empires and disk jockeys on larger stations developed and run by blind and visually impaired folks. We hope to learn lots from you and may have a few things to teach you as well.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week we are going to discuss a topic that we hope will be of some interest to many blind and visually impaired people. From the time I was three years old in 1948, radio had become a critical part of my life. I don't think I am alone. I lived outside the United States for many years and listened to short wave radio even more asiduously than I had listened ! AM radio in the US and Canada before. I spent time listening to distant AM stations at night and became a fan of presenters in cities I had never visited. How did radio impact your life? Were you a listener from the time you were a child? Do you remember the days when radio had dramas instead of music, news and politics? Do you view radio as an entertainment medium or just an information source? Did you listen to stations from other countries on short wave? Do you use internet radio now? What stations do you like and recommend to others? Has changing technology made you less likely to listen to radio? Help us explore what many might believe is the most relevant medium for people who are blind or have low vision!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics will explore seasonal issues on ACB Media One and live on zoom. We are hearing a lot about the heat! How is that affecting people who are blind! Does climate change have special issues that apply ! people who are blind or have low vision? What are the issues and what should ACB be doing about them? Hotels are more expensive; plane fares appear to be higher; Covid has impacted the way hotels operate. How has that affected people who are blind or low vision who often need a little more help? We often used to see Summer as a time to be outside swimming or camping or going places. Is this still how people who are blind are spending their Summers? How has your Summer altered?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
It is really crucial that many of you join us because we are going to explore an issue that will become increasingly important over the next few years. During the ACB convention just completed the Braille Revival League sponsored a session that allowed those who were there to at least get to touch a new device that is being developed by the American Printing House for the Blind and Humanware. The device is called the Monarch and is the latest in a series of devices that will eventually make the inclusion of tactile graphics in education a commonplace. Starting this Fall devices will be made available to teachers who agree to train in their use. At our presentation and in other places, APH has said they would like to see these devices in the hands of all blind students in the United States. The devices will allow braille reading and, eventually, audio reading. They will allow tactile graphics to be created. APH already has a library of such graphics but it appears that there will need to be the production of lots more "pictures" that are not too intricate for people who are blind to understand the representation the Monarch can bring. Clearly a decision has been made that children who are blind, if properly introduced to the subject, can comprehend and benefit from tactile graphics. Is this true? Can people born without vision understand pictures? The issue is broader than just these machines! Museums, art galleries and art classes are trying to create tactile representations of great art. There are audio descriptions of great art that attempt to explain why a painting or a sculpture has appeal. How effective have these efforts been? Audio description, the electronic depiction of pictures in the class room and perhaps even a discussion of whether the absence of vision makes understanding the visual arts impossible are all parts of the question of people who are blind "seeing" pictures. Where do you stand? Do people with partial vision have the ability to bridge the gap? Can totally blind people who lose their sight later help us understand the many questions that surround making the visual comprehensible? We need your opinions and, after the program is over, we need your continued involvement in coming to terms with one of the newest and most innovative options to emerge for people who are blind.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Last week Tuesday Topics took a look at the convention as a whole. We think there is more to cover from ACB 2023 and propose considering three specific concerns surrounding this event. First, what was the new tech that was shown at the exhibit hall. What should folks look for in the future from some of our more established companies? We will review some of the new stuff and look ahead to a couple of cool things that were hinted at during meetings or at the exhibit hall! What were the highlights of the program? What podcasts do we think you should try to get as soon as they are available? Third, there was what we think is a pretty serious problem that occurred this year that did not appear to be as much of a problem in the past. Particularly United Airlines seemed to be canceling trips all through our convention period. Clearly we cannot do much about the fact of cancellations but what happens afterwards? Should we ask ACB to make available the access numbers of all the airlines before convention next year? Are there other things we can do? Clearly, it was United's turn this year! Last year Southwest seemed to have the most problems. Two years in a row of issues suggests we must consider how we can help our members with this problem! Were you one of the many who had blights go away? What did you do? How successful were you? Could you fix it on your own? So here are three topics surrounding the convention that we hope will persuade many of you to make our next edition of Tuesday Topics a must on your calendar on May 18.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
After a period away, Tuesday Topics is overjoyed to be back. You can probably guess what our topic will be. Every year we utilize our first presentation after the convention to provide our sense of how the convention went. While our opinions are important, your views as our listeners are even more important. Brian, Maryann, Larry, Rick and Paul all attended the convention in person. We want particularly to invite folks who came to Schaumburg virtually. What were the strengths of our convention? What can we do better? how did the break out sessions on the general agenda work? What changes seem to be necessary? Is the convention too long or too short? How did the Zoom links work? Did people know where they needed to be and how to get there? What subjects should be included in the program next year that were not there this year? Obviously there are loads of other issues that %we are sure will come up! This will be your first chance to react to ACB twenty-three! Did "the winds of change" create balmy breezes or hurricanes?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
In around 2004 a new phenomenon arrived that was to alter the technology scene. As with so many developments, there was a question of whether the idea would catch on. Now, twenty years after their first appearance, podcasts have become hugely popular, amazingly diverse and immensely entertaining. We think there are a lot of people who are blind who do not listen to podcasts. We want to tell you about some of our favorites. We want you to tell us about some of your favorites. We want to explore some of the huge variety of ways you can access podcasts and, most of all, we want to explore just how huge the selection of podcasts is. Will will also talk about at least one program and podcast about podcasts. It has sadly finished its run but there are lots of episodes that you can listen to in order to find new and exciting podcasts.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
On this show we are going to explore some of the impacts both negative and positive ofthe end of the COVID era. What happened to people who are blind during Covid? We isolated; we used technology to survive; we virtually stopped traveling;we used technology to create our new communities. What impact did all those elements have? Are we less comfortable going out now? How have stores and businessestreated us since Covid ended? They didn't see much of us during Covid. When we did ask for help, we were sometimes told that, because of Covid, the usualassistance couldn't happen! Is there a new normal where people with vision impairments are at a greater disadvantage because entities feel like Covid hascreated an ability to refuse assistance? If things have changed for the worse, what do we do about it? Is it time for organizations like ACB to be moreassertive with businesses, hospitals, doctors' offices and restaurants? Do we need to remind all these groups of our rights now that Covid is allegedlygone? Have people had experiences in other countries? Is there the same reluctance to help there than in this country?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Yes, Janet Dickelman, our irreplaceable convention coordinator, will be our guest tomorrow on Tuesday Topics.Illinois is getting close! Registration is open! Many tours are filling up fast! It may even be a little tricky to get rooms if you are staying beforeor after the convention. Janet has the knowledge and experience to guide us through all the convention variables.There will be lots of time for questions and we will talk about tips and tricks that can make the convention experience more enjoyable. How will this hybridthing work anyway? Which programs will be hybrid and which only in person and which only streamed? How do these decisions get made? What's happening duringthe virtual week before the convention starts? Will the convention end right after the banquet or are there other activities? Where will ACB have its conventionnext year? How is registration this year? Good or should we be concerned that there aren't enough of us going to convention?I always look forward to having Janet on our show because I always learn something I didn't know about ACB or what's happening at our next get together!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics has been planning for quite a long time to do a whole show on cruising and that will happen before the end of the Summer. For now, though,we thought it might be fun to do a show about traveling as a person who is blind. We hope that old hands will talk about getting ready for convention travel.We hope that guide dog users will tell folks what preparations they make before convention. Are there things folks should remember to take with them toconvention that we might not think about.Are there things we should know about how to deal with assistance at air ports? I now use a wheel chair when I go through air ports. This has nothing todo with my visual impairment, however. Are folks taking trains or fuses these days. What can you tell us about those forms of transportation and gettingthe assistance we may need?I think the whole crew will be with us next week but I will actually be in the midst of a cruise to Bermuda. I expect to be good to go but, just in caseI am not, others will cover for me.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Isolation, technology and COVID are discussed. The impact of the way our lives have changed because of technology is the central concern of this week's Tuesday Topics. And it may well be that the problem we discuss have gone on for a much longer time than the point that the covid pandemic arrived. Technology has allowed us to get to lots of information on the internet. It has allowed us to make "friends" on facebook, Twitter, Clubhouse, Mastonon and via email and messaging. Suddenly, we have access to a whole "community" that we can become a part of and where we can "belong". Certainly there are good things about the new state of the situation. Many people who are blind have a place where they can feel valued and important. Before the technology reached out to include us, we would get together face to face and play games, share food and drink and even "hugs". Are people who are blind becoming more isolated because of their connection to the internet? What do we lose by not getting together in person? Should we attempt to do anything about the situation? If so, what? What are the advantages of the new connectedness? Do they outweigh our concerns?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
As often seemsto happen with our program, we only got one of our two major issues covered this time. So our next program will look at how the various notions of informationaffect the field of blindness!It is a little frightening to suggest that that the field of blindness and visual impairment is rife with misinformation. But why should we expect anythingelse? ACB and NFB have their own versions of truth! Agencies may want to emphasize elements that do not paint as clear a picture of the services they providethat they might! How do we explore what is true in the blindness field? All of us want to find ways to make our point of view seem stronger! We are notpurposely propagating disinformation but we are certainly selectively choosing the facts and arguments that bolster our notions of what is right and good.Does ACB have propaganda? What's it like? How about other organizations? What might their predilections in terms of information look like? We hope thatmany listeners will want to help us explore how we protect the truth and learn to think critically! Propaganda is the subject of our next Tuesday Topicsshow!Help us explore what the truth is about blindness!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We are going to explore a question that may seem beyond the scope of our program. Over the past few months we have spent quite a lot of time discussingchat bots. Recently we have seen lots of evidence that they can get things amazingly wrong in terms of information. Our friend Jonathan Mosen reportedthat he and his partner Bonnie were described as having been married for the past thirty years. This is certainly not true but it highlights that thereis another element of our lives where misinformation can happen, whether intentionally or not. At the same time, there are news stories that indicate thatactors from China and Russia have flooded our mass media with disinformation about the arraignment of Donald Trump aimed at deepening the division withinthe United States. Obviously, in general, it is very difficult to know what is true and what is not.What can we do to make it less likely that we will spread information that isn't true? How do we know that what we read and hear and see is true? Do weon Tuesday Topics have responsibilities? What are they?It is a little frightening to suggest that that the field of blindness and visual impairment is rife with misinformation. But why should that topic beoff limits? ACB and NFB have their own versions of truth! Agencies may want to emphasize elements that do not paint as clear a picture of the servicesthey provide that they might! How do we explore what is true in the blindness field? All of us want to find ways to make our point of view seem stronger!We are not purposely propagating disinformation but we are certainly selectively choosing the facts and arguments that bolster our notions of what is rightand good.Does ACB have propaganda? What's it like? How about other organizations? What might their predilections in terms of information look like? We hope thatmany listeners will want to help us explore how we protect the truth and learn to think critically! Chat Bots, bad actors and propaganda are the subjectof our next Tuesday Topics!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
How well did voting work last year at ACB? What changes, if any, can we look forward to this year? How did people vote who were at the convention? Didmany need assistance? How did affiliate voting work? Are there going to be any changes in how affiliates vote this year? What do we know about who voted?Everybody voted digitally. We know that but what proportion of the vote was done by folks who were at the convention and what proportion of the vote camefrom those who were not there? Can we even tell? Are there ways we can encourage more voters? Will we have a candidates' forum this year? How about candidates'pages? Will there be any changes there?All of these questions will help us have a sense of where we are at a process which is still pretty new for ACB! Voting privately and independently isan important new characteristic of ACB elections. How has the new voting system affected elections? When elections only included people who attended conventions,there were expectations about how things would go. What are the expectations that the new election system creates?Members of the voting task force will be our guests next week. We don't know just who will join us from that group but believe that two or three of themembers of that committee will be with us. We are looking forward to hearing from them and to an open discussion of what the new normal look like. You,our listeners, will have a chance to ask questions and to share your impressions of how things went last year and what we can expect this year.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Don't miss a chance to choose from three issues!Several weeks ago Tuesday Topics asked all of you to come up with subjects for us. However, we indicated that we would put together a series of topicsin case our listeners did not come up with discussion issues. We did not have to use those ideas then so we will now offer three of them for this week'sTuesday Topics.
- What piece of technology would you most like to see that doesn't currently exist? Others tell us by the technology they make available what we can have!I do not know of any company who has asked folks what they really want! Tuesday Topics is asking you!
- What new application or device have you started using over the past year and how has that been for you? Have you found the device or app meets yourneeds?
- ACB says it is interested in receiving feedback from its members! Here is your chance! What activity or approach or initiative that you think ACB isnot doing much about would you like the organization to pursue. Think out of the box! What do people who are blind need? What does the rest of the worldneed to know about blind people that ACB can tell them?These are three questions that we will explore on Tuesday Topics on Tuesday Topics on April 4 at 7 PM on ACB Media One!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Remember to join us when David Trott is our guest on Tuesday Topics!During that period, we will invite David Trott to share with us a notion of where ACBis financially and in terms of membership. During the in-person segment of ACB'S recent meetings in Alexandria Virginia those present were invited to talkabout membership and money. That element was moderated (David Trott. We will explore what came out of that meeting. We will look at where ACB is in termsof money and will explore the trends in membership. Have state affiliates grown since the start of the pandemic? What about special interest affiliates?Have members-at-large become more important. What might the future of membership be like?Where does the money come from that makes our organization run? Is there a change in where our funds come from? Do we have more money than we used to have?David is our current treasurer and can give us a sense of where we are and where we might want to go?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Ever since he was a student at university, Eric Bridges has been active in ACB. For much of his career he has worked for ACB. For the last several yearsEric has been ACB'S Executive Director. Virtually all the members of ACB are almost certainly aware that Mr. Bridges has been chosen to become the ExecutiveDirector of the American Foundation for the Blind. His last day at ACB will be March 21, a Tuesday. I was in DC last week end and asked Eric whether hewould consider coming on Tuesday Topics to reflect on his time with ACB. Perhaps it is too early to talk about his role at the American Foundation forthe Blind but we will certainly see what he can tell us about his plans.Obviously, all of you will have the opportunity to ask questions of Eric and may want to say some farewells to him. We are truly excited to have Eric beour guest on Tuesday Topics as, essentially, his final act as Executive Director of ACB. We are very much looking forward to an opportunity to hear Eric'snotions about where ACB is, and whatever else he is minded to share.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Some of our Tuesday Topics people have been in Washington over the last week. There were programs that were on in DC last Tuesday so we decided to stepaside for one week. We are back and feel like there are a number of topics which may be a part of our Tuesday. We have had a request from ACB'S EmploymentCommittee to invite them to report on some of their activities. We now know they will join us during our second hour to tell us what they are up to.During our first hour we would like to give our listeners an opportunity to choose what we discuss. So join us and talk to us about an issue you believedeserves our attention. We have some thoughts about appropriate things to talk about but we will only use them if you fail us, listeners. We hope you willnot!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
As often seems to happen, our program last week intended to covertwo topics but only got to one. That left the accessibility of large appliances as essentially undiscussed.On the last day of February, then, that will be our topic. Where are we with this issue? Historically, how did we handle access. How has the "internetof things" changed our situation. Does having an appliance that connects with the lady a or Google home or siri assure accessibility? What steps can wetake when buying new appliances to be certain we can use all or most of their features? Where does braille fit into this mosaic? Are there still overlays?Do we seem to be moving forward or backward in terms of access to the internet of things? What can we do to assure that we are heard?We need to hear your experiences with new appliances. Have you had to pay more to get what you need? Have you been able to get what you need? Join us aswe explore how stoves and refrigerators and air conditioners and washers and dryers and furnaces and security systems all stack up in today's economy.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Last week we discussed new devices that are expected this year and, after that, barely scratched the surfacewith a discussion of phones. As a result, we will begin this edition with a discussion of the three main groups of phones used by people who are blindor have low vision. We will talk about the iPhone and will explore how it has morphed into so much more than just a device for making calls. We will lookat Android phones and explore who uses them and, with your help, maybe come to understand why people like them. The third group of phones are beginningto have a renaissance of sorts. These are phones which are specifically designed for people who are blind or have low vision. They are push button cellphones that have an overlay of features that are built on top of the operating system specifically aimed at people who are blind or have low vision. Whereas,in the past, many features that were available on iPhones and androids were not available on this group of phones, that has changed. Who likes these phonesand why? What can these phones now do? Are there shortcomings that should be considered?We hope that people who have android phones as well as phones from the third group will call in and tell us about their experiences.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Once more Tuesday Topics will depend on you for our success. We are once more going to try for a double feature. Those of you who have been a part of TuesdayTopics for a while know that this means we are going to choose two topics which we will discuss. The idea is that we will find one that encourages folksto call in and participate. We are competing with Valentine's Day so we probably have no way of knowing whether folks will be billing and cooing ratherthan coming.
One of our two topics concerns technology for people who are blind. What trends can we identify? Are these "hybrid" devices becoming the norm? Is therea role for braille note takers an more? If so, what is that role? What has happened with low vision devices? What do we know about new devices that arelikely to happen this year? What is missing? By that I mean, what do we know of that we can't easily do using current hardware and software?Our second topic is also technological but it focuses on one particular device, the cell phone. There are basically three main cell phone categories. Firstand probably the most popular is the iPhone. Second, of course, are android phones. Third and, oddly en, the most recent in a way is the blind shell phone.We thought it might be interesting to see what people are doing with their phones. Are we using them mostly as phones or do we do other things than callmost of the time? Are there new apps we have found that we want to share? Why has the Blind Shell phone garnered such interest? There will perhaps be moreissues we explore as we examine devices that are, potentially, much more than phones to see how you, our listeners, are using them!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
February is a month full of significant events. The Grammies will happen before our next Tuesday Topics. The Superbowl, number 57, is on February 12. Valentine'sDay is on February 14. Later in the month are the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln. We will look at all of these elements and other February phenomena.What do the two Presidents represent and what should we be celebrating with both? What kinds of memories do we have of valentines? Tell us about your experiences!Do you have predictions about the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles? Are there elements of February we have missed?There is Ground Hog Day! It will happen tomorrow so we will know how winter will fare by the time of our next appearance! Do you have thoughts about theefficacy of forecasting weather this way?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Though it may seem a long time ago to some, we looked at a lot of the advantages of the newly emerging artificial intelligence (AI) capacity that we canaccess today. We also looked ahead at developments that we believed were inevitable and, potentially, beneficial. We certainly talked about some of the pitfalls that the new technology might involve but, at the end of our first show, we decided it would be good tospend a whole show on the down side of the future both for our society as a whole and for people who are blind in particular. Will the new technology affectjobs? Will an absolutely smaller number of jobs be available? How will this affect income distribution? Will the underclass that many see as existing nowcontinue to grow? Should we be worried about computers taking over the world? When all is said and done, how should we feel about the future?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
During our program of January 3, Brian talked about a new app he has been looking at that allows him to make some requests that go a good deal beyond justasking for information. A little while ago my daughter indicated that her new electric car had asked her whether she wanted it to park itself. In considering how life is likely to change this year, Brian indicated that artificial intelligence would, in his opinion, revolutionize our lives verysoon. He sees this as a very positive development. I am not so sure. I thought it might be fun to do a first show on this subject that would aim at settingout the parameters of the intersection of artificial intelligence and the lives of people who are blind. At the same time that we are talking about theemergence of a i, we can also explore augmented reality. The latest version of Apple head phones offer some elements that would not have been consideredordinary even a year ago. Virtual reality is already revolutionizing gaming and sound. I recently saw my first movie in 3d, the new avatar movie. Thosewith whom I saw it suggested that the effects were considerably more impressive than earlier 3d efforts. What are the advantages of the new artificialintelligence options? What do they suggest for the future? Are there concerns that we need to at least consider? What are the specific concerns of thisnew frontier for people who are blind or have low vision? Are we in danger of being left behind? Might we be in danger of being fooled by people who canuse the voices of friends and carry on conversations with us? Can the new a i be a tool that can significantly expand our ability to get the informationwe really want tailored to us as people who are blind? There are a i programs that can emulate people who have died so that we can use conversation withthem as a part of the grieving process? Is this a good thing?We need some of you who have played with this technology to be a part of this show. Join us and share your experiences! None of us are experts in thisfield but we thought it might be good for a group of ordinary blind people to explore the new frontier of artificial intelligence to see what it holdsfor folks who are blind. Should we as ACB be doing anything about this brave new world? Can our input guide those who are developing new applications sothat they can optimize their usefulness to us as people who are blind?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Over the past few years Tuesday Topics generally uses our first meeting of the year to look ahead. What can we expect from 2023? Are there things we expectin our world this year? Are there ACB issues? What about expectations about new books or new music or new movies?What can we expect from ACB or, perhaps, what should we expect? Are there things state affiliates and local chapters should think about?I don't think that we will end up using our whole two hours gazing into our crystal ball. Tell us about your new year's resolutions! Have you done anythingthat makes it more likely that you will keep them? Can you share suggestions about how we can maximize success with resolutions? I guess we can ask whetherresolutions make sense since eighty percent of them cease to be operative by February according to statistics.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
It is something of a conundrum to try to predict how topics will be regarded by our listeners and participants. Topics we at Tuesday Topics think willbe popular do not attract much attention. Topics we are not confident about attract lots of people. Efforts to encourage our participants to come up withtopics have, for the most part, been unsuccessful. And then there are other factors that impact how successful Tuesday Topics is likely to be. People willpersist in celebrating Christmas and other holidays! ACB Media, committees and other groups have suddenly discovered that Tuesday is a very cool day tohold programs. For all these reasons, it is hard to predict what will turn out to be effective programming. We are going to try two topics this Tuesdayand we need to turn up so that the production team doesn't have to talk among ourselves only!The first topic we want to discuss has to do with Christmas. We are pretty open about where this topic goes! Is giving better than receiving? Is therea particular present you are excited about? Are there Christmas traditions that you would like to share with us? Is Christmas a waste of money, time andeffort? Does what we celebrate get lost with all the socializing?Our second topic concerns Christmas as well but is especially aimed to explore the experience of yule tide by people who are blind! How did you shop? Doyou need help with Christmas more now or less than you did a few years ago? Are there some new gadgets, games or devices that you have heard about thisyear you would like to tell us about? ACB Radio will be providing some holiday programming. We hope to be able to tell you some about what is coming upand how you can participate!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We typically, at the end of each year, look back at the last twelve months and explore what conclusions, if any, we can draw about the nature of 2022.What kind of developments have there been in the field of blindness. Can we point to new elements of cooperation? Are there tangible things we can lookat that have changed? What about technology? Should we care about Mastodon? We have seen a few new devices emerge. Braille keyboards, new Gps device, thepromise of a new, old device and more!We don't only operate as people who are blind. We live in a world that has seen a huge, new war begin! Two hurricanes hit this country! What other trendscan we point at? Has this been a good year, a bad year, a scary year?And then, of course, there is ACB. What has this year been like for our organization. Hybrid convention, voting for everyone possible, new resolutions,a changing Constitution. New staff arriving, old staff leaving! New initiatives and old issues!And, finally, our listeners, what has this year been like for you? Do you have celebrations you want to share? Are there issues that have gotten in yourway this year? We need you to be there to provide the feedback we need to assess the world that soon will be over!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
I hope that everyone was able to attend the Gala on Tuesday. Now Topics is back and we are once again seeking your help to explore how blind people andfolks with partial vision do with holidays. When you go home, how are you treated? How do siblings feel about having a blind relative? Is it easy to helpwhen you go home? How are things when you host Thanksgiving or Christmas events? What can we do to make things better? What techniques have you used?Our second issue is related to the first. Giving is certainly better than receiving, right? How do people feel about blind people giving? How are we seenwhen we offer assistance when the consensus is that blind people don't give, they take! How can we change this notion or should we want to change it!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
One of the most important issues facing members of the American Council of the Blind is employment. The ACB has an "Employment Committee" which is concerned with working to consider and develop policies and programs that will increase the likelihood of assuring that people who are blind or have low vision can finds jobs and careers. We will have members of the Employment Committee as our guests on Tuesday Topics. They will tell us what they are doing and listen to what members of the American Council of the Blind suggest as other approaches that can encourage job seekers. Who are members of the Employment Committee? What have they been doing over the past year? What are their plans for this year?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Last year the American Council of the Blind with the leadership of its Audio Description Project (ADP) held the first annual Audio Description Gala. Now we are approaching the date of the second annual Gala. It's bigger and better this year! What is it? Who's involved? How can you participate? Join us on November 15 at 7 PM Eastern time on ACB Media One to find out the answers to all these questions and many more. What is the Audio Description Project? What else do they do? What are their priorities for this year? What are the "project's" recent accomplishments? Both co-chairs of our Audio Description Project will join us. Kim Charlson is our immediate past President of ACB and will tell us about work that is being done to start the process of codifying standards for audio description. Carl Richardson knows more about old movies than I ever dreamed of knowing and can speak to issues that operate for folks with hearing loss as well as people who are blind. We will leave time for questions about the gala and the Project as well. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
What is the impact of advertising on people who are blind? How has the inclusion of a few blind people in ads changed things? How do people with some vision fare in ads. During this hour we will explore just how much we are viewed as consumers or objects of political correctness. During the second hour we will consider mentoring. One of the more exciting new projects unveiled during our convention this summer in Omaha Nebraska was the Mentoring, Access and Peer Support Program (MAPSP). This program created partnerships between "guides" and "explorers". In more traditional programs these folks might have been known as mentors and mentees. Initially, the first iteration of this exciting program was to last a year. During that time, a support team would oversee how the program works and perhaps make decisions about how things should change during what it is hoped will be a second iteration next year. Full disclosure means I should tell all of you that two of us on Tuesday Topics are Guides. We will have some of the members of the team on Tuesday Topics and perhaps some guides and explorers as well. We will explore how the program is going and give you, our listeners, an opportunity to raise questions about how the program works. I am sure that Kenneth Semien Sr. will be there and suspect that Cheryl Cumings, Donna Brown and Donna Browning will also be there! So far the program is only a couple of months old. How was it set up? What are its goals? What do participants think? How does the leadership team feel? Explore with us a new and promising program while it is being implemented.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
How do folks who are blind or have low vision remember Halloween? Did we trick or treat as kids? Did we take our kids trick or treating? Do we decorate our house and give out candy? Do we prefer Halloween parties held at schools or clubs? In general, we would like a snapshot of how Halloween happens for our folks! Tell us about your memories of Halloweens past and what you like or do not like about this holiday. This version of Tuesday Topics ends rather abruptly due to some technical issues at about 62 minutes. The full version of Tuesday Topics will return with the next podcast.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We will discuss together where we stand with regard to how we feel about how those who are blind or low vision are portrayed in the movies and on television. We will also consider who and how the media cover the activities that we take part in. What do you think of the "super blind"? Are they "inspiring" or do they mislead the public? What do such stories do to the expectations of parents with blind or low vision children? Time permitting, we will also dip our toe in the waters of audio description and museums. Co-host Paul Edwards will have visited a number of museums between now and then and will share those experiences with us, and we hope that you will do the same.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We will explore together where we stand with regard to accessible voting as we approach the mid-term elections. Are there new things to celebrate? Are there basic issues that still need to be worked on? How valuable is accessible email voting without return? How can we work to make return happen and what advantages do the military offer us? Voting machines operate. How is early voting operating in various states? What issues surround voting machines and what should we do about them? How do we get information about candidates and what they represent? Are there states that are doing things to make this kind of information more easily obtainable? What other issues do we need to be concerned about as elections draw extra closer and how should we report issues? These are just some of the questions that we will explore on next week's Tuesday Topics!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Sometimes it's fun to take risks! Tuesday Topics has quite a few regular participants. While we have asked people for suggestions, my email has been notably devoid of messages about this! However, I think it might be fun to devote some of Tuesday Topics to an opportunity for folks to raise issues they think we should discuss! I am therefore urging folks to consider a topic they believe warrants some consideration and be prepared to take the lead with its discussion. I am not prepared to leave things entirely to chance, however. I have this vision of asking for topics and being greeted by silence as absolute as the number 0. So, here are a couple of issues I think may be relevant. If we don't use them this time, we might use them at another session. One of the emerging realities of the post-covid period is the community call. In some cases, local chapters of ACB have held meetings virtually. Meetings in person (, for a long time, not happening! In Florida and in other states a new phenomenon has emerged. Florida calls their version "calm" which, I think, stands for Chapter of At Large Members. It is a statewide organization aimed at recruiting members who are geographically not close to a local chapter or who, for some other reason, do not choose to join a local chapter. Should we encourage such chapters? What are the consequences of having them? What about at large members of ACB? We have recruited more during the pandemic! What impact has this development had? We have spent some time talking about the effect that hybrid conventions have had at the national level. How have hybrid conventions affected state affiliates! More and more special interest affiliates are holding business meetings away from the ACB convention! How does that affect the price of cheese?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We will once more tackle two topics which are connected. We will begin by looking at "blind jokes" or humor concerning people who are blind. We will, unfortunately, have to include some examples to make our points clear. Is it okay for blind people to tell "blind jokes"? What is objectionable about them, if anything? How should we handle being told such jokes by others? Should we start telling "sighted jokes"? Can you provide us with a few? Once we have helped this topic make its unsightful way past our notice, we will do what you may very well expect! The term "politically correct" is being widely used to stifle dialogue. At least, I think that is its effect! Am I right? Where did the notion come from and how should we feel about it? What has the impact of "politically correct" speech been? Has it created a less hostile environment within which to discuss minorities in general and disabilities in particular? Has it outlived its usefulness? Is there a better paradigm for us to use? Who knows how many of these issues we will actually get to explore but we, as the blind, will find lots to say! Oops, was that politically incorrect?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We are once again going to tackle two topics! We thought it might be interesting to talk about an issue that is not blindness-related. It may be a little scary for us to discuss this topic but we want to know if we are creating holidays or, I suppose, special days that focus too much on specific issues of particular groups. So, juneteenth, Martin Luther King Day, Jewish holidays, Christmas, Easter, and so on. We do not have a holiday celebrating the ADA! Should we have one? What is the impact of these specific holidays. If you look at a calendar, virtually every day is dedicated to something.
In a couple of weeks we will reach October 15 which is known as "White Cane Safety Day". That day has often been used to create an understanding of mobility problems faced by people with low vision and who are blind. How effective are these celebrations? What do they accomplish? In the past, we had lots of partners including the White House, state and local governments, local agencies serving people who are blind and companies interested interested in allying with us. Now the White House is describing what we are celebrating as Employment of people who are Blind Day or some such title. What messages are we sending with our White Cane celebration? When we ask sighted people to wear blind folds, are we creating a better understanding of the problems we face? Do we create room for partnerships with White Cane Day or are we allowing ourselves to be used to create advantage for other groups who feel like they can take advantage of the day? What might we do to make it better? What kind of outcomes would make White Cane Day more valuable? We hope that many of you will take part in both these discussions that will explore together the things that bring us together and the things that divide us! This is another of those situations where we don't think there may be right answers. We do think it's important for us to think about the implications that our actions include!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
In Florida, as a part of the the Florida Council of the Blind, we have a special interest affiliate called the Council for the Concerns of the Totally Blind. In Florida and, of course, throughout the country there are chapters of and a national organization championing the issues of people with low vision. This organization is, of course, Council of Citizens with Low Vision (CCLVI). Do we need an organization like CCTB or CCLVI. If so, why? If not, why? Do we need one more than the other? What does creating organizations for people with particular issues do to our organization as a whole?
We hope that many of you will take part in this discussion that will explore together the things that bring us together and the things that divide us! This is another of those situations where we don't think there may be right answers. We do think it's important for us to think about the implications that our actions include!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Last week, as usual, we bit off more than we could chew. Essentially, we did not have the opportunity to discuss Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Section 8 housing and homelessness. These are all components that impact people who are blind or have low vision. We hope that some of you who have dealt with subsidized housing will call in and tell us about your experiences. Many of us qualify for subsidized housing. How equal is our access to this system. Is the system accessible. Does state and Federal law need to be strengthened or do housing employees need to be better trained? There are clear rules governing some elements of access for people who use wheel chairs or have mobility problems. What kinds of accessibility options ought to exist in housing for people who are blind or have low vision? What is ACB doing about this and what else should we do?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
People with disabilities are among the population with the least disposable income. hat means, among other things, that many people who are blind or have low vision have very limited choices where housing is concerned. Despite this, like many of our non-disabled peers, we want to own our own homes. What are the barriers that particularly apply. As a person who has just sold and bought a house, I am fully aware of how things have changed since I last moved. Many of us qualify for subsidized housing. How equal is our access to this system. Is the system accessible. Does state and Federal law need to be strengthened or do housing employees need to be better trained? There are clear rules governing some elements of access for people who use wheel chairs or have mobility problems. What kinds of accessibility options ought to exist in housing for people who are blind o! have low vision? What is ACB doing about this and what else should we do?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Right at the end of Tuesday Topics there was a brief discussion of audio description. It has been a while since Tuesday Topics has spent some time talking about this most powerful equalizer for people who are blind. During our discussion there were a couple of questions that came up. First, do descriptions actually describe what is most important? Second, how different would different audio description files be from one another. There are some opportunities to find out with the arrival on HBO Max of new descriptions which describe the same shows as were described in England. There are beginning to be several podcasts about audio description. Brian Charlson and Carl Richardson do one called "picture This" which we have already discussed here. However, it might be good to hear more about their first full year and where they are going in the future. Are there other podcasts? If so, what are they? Should we be subscribing to some of them? Our hand raiser Marianne Grignon knows about one which she will tell us about. It offers a unique idea and allows listeners to have input into what it does which is pretty unique! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
For a third week in a row, Tuesday Topics found itself completing only part of what was planned. We heard lots of fascinating stories of how people became blind and how folks felt about whether they would want to see again! So, what about next week? We will look at research as we were supposed to this week. In particular, we want to know what kind of research should we support? There are efforts to create vision that, so far, have not borne a lot of fruit. There are genetic efforts that appear to be gradually creating some real hope. There have been some amazing new drugs that have made a huge difference in some diseases that affect older people who are losing vision. We will look at some of these elements but will also ask how we should feel about research that doesn't offer much hope to many of us. Should we argue for spending more on services instead? After spending some time on these weighty matters, we thought it would be fun to explore a question we want to get answered. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what happens if the beholder beholds nothing? How do people who are blind measure beauty? Do we rely on what other people tell us? Do we think beauty doesn't matter? Do we make decisions about who's beautiful based on what we hear or what we smell? Are we comfortable with someone who is, in the eyes of others at least, terminally ugly or do we have prejudices about what we expect that are just as real as those held by folks who can see? I am looking forward to learning a lot! Come and teach me and Brian and Mary Ann and Rick and Larry! All of us on Tuesday Topics want to know what beauty is for blind people! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Last week Tuesday Topics was supposed to look at two issues. As has often happened in the past with this presentation, we never got to our second issue. Instead we ranged from a discussion of the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its consequences to even broader questions like "how do you %decide what changes you really want to make in the law and how much detail is needed? The net result was that we have our topic for next week and we will just have to hope it will sustain us for two hours. The second question we didn't get to concerns blindness itself. If you had the chance, would you want to have your vision back? Would you want to participate in the electronic vision exercises currently going on that create some semblance of vision at this stage but may enable more in the future? Who would be most likely to answer affirmatively when asked about recovering vision? Would it be people with some vision? Would it be people who have recently lost vision? We think these questions are interesting and may relate to a broader one. Are we devoting too much money to research that could lead to the recovery of vision? Would we get more bang from our buck by devoting funds to serving people with vision loss rather than working on eye research aimed to restore vision? Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
I received a couple of chides from faithful listeners who expressed dismay and chagrin that we did not cover the ADA on its anniversary. Had I thought of it, it might have happened. The 26th for me is my son's birthday and since he is not a girl I could not name him "Ada". I don't think it matters that our discussion is a week later than the anniversary. The law and its value, unlike the economy, is not likely to change much in seven days. What is its value? Are those of us who are blind making appropriate use of its provisions? What does the ADA offer to us and how can we maximize what we get through the law? Should we seek to change it in the current political climate? The second question I propose we spend some time on is one that lots of people have asked. If you had the chance, would you want to have your vision back? Would you want to participate in the electronic vision exercises that create some semblance of vision at this stage but may enable more in the future? Who would be most likely to answer affirmatively when asked about recovering vision? Would it be people with some vision? Would it be people who have recently lost vision? We think these questions are interesting and may relate to a broader one. Are we devoting too much money to research that could lead to the recovery of vision? Would we get more bang from our buck by devoting funds to serving people with vision loss? Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Paul Edwards and Brian Charlson will begin a discussion that we fervently hope our listeners will help us continue. It is on a subject that may make some of you uncomfortable. ACB is an organization of people who are blind but it is also an organization of just plain people. Some of these folks are conservative and some are liberal. Some come from the South of this country while some are from the North. Is ACB a liberal organization? Do we make enough room for conservatives? Is ACB a conservative organization? Do we make enough room for liberals? Are we somewhere in between? How should ACB handle political difference? Should extreme views be discouraged? Should we seek to limit the expression of political views because they do not directly relate to blindness? What are conservative views of how blindness should be dealt with? What would liberals say? Surely, given their differing views on the role of government, their notions of how the nation ought to treat people who are blind should differ as well. We hope you will join us to explore the political character of ACB and what it might mean for how we interact with each other. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
It has been too long since our last Tuesday Topics program appeared for your delectation. However, we are back. My producers Rick Morin and Larry Gassmann are ready to go and my new co-host and i can hardly wait to once more foster good conversation and the exchange of ideas. I am overjoyed to let everyone know that, from now on, Brian Charlson is my co-host for TT. We were partners in the past and I am delighted to be partners again! Of course, we are going to talk about the convention. I had actually thought that we might not but Brian convinced me that, in spite of the fact that some of you may be conventioned out by the time we get to Tuesday, there would still be value in what we plan to do. We have discussed the convention and we think that our approach will lead us to look at some elephants that may be in the room and some ways of making sure they don't step all over our next convention. Did ACB do enough with regard to Covid? How can we improve the debate process? Is there a better way to handle resolutions? How different is debate in person and only on Zoom? These are just some of the questions we will explore. There will be lots of opportunities for your input.
We do not intend to bash the convention! We want to focus on the pluses and minuses surrounding it! Truly, a hybrid convention is quite an accomplishment! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This is, of course, not the only time the committee will meet. Open meetings will happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays and those resolutions up for discussion will be described. On this show we will deal with a situation on the Resolutions Committee that I have never seen before. By the way, I am saying "we" because I am a member of the committee. What I have not seen before are two resolutions asking for precisely the opposite outcome. I will not give the resolutions away because they may change but there is a resolution that asks that people do a very simple thing submitted by one affiliate for good reasons. There is another resolution submitted by another affiliate that asks ACB to support exactly the opposite action. The debate should be interesting! I don't think that the Resolutions Committee can send both forward. I suppose the committee could decide to let the members decide and send both on. I hope that doesn't happen but we will see. There may also be a couple of additional resolutions for the committee to look at if the first few go well. Tune in or join the debate as Tuesday Topics and the Resolutions Committee join forces on May 17. Remember to join us tonight for a chance to be involved with the resolutions committee as the tackle three resolutions. They will also describe the process which will be used this year to give our members the opportunity to vote on resolutions.
Tuesday Topics will, as usual, happen between 7 and 9 PM on May 17. ACB is having a hybrid convention and Tuesday Topics is sort of having a hybrid show. We have invited a cast of thousands to join us. That means the Resolutions Committee. We will talk about the resolutions process but will actually invite the Resolutions Committee to do their thing during the show. So we will actually read resolutions, accept them, make sure we are happy with the wording and invite members of the audience to tell us what they think. It's kind of a cool process. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
I am honored to have as my guest Michael Faire who has just released the second edition of his huge, free book that begins to be about the iphone but turns out to be about so many other things. We will talk about why he wrote the book in the first place. We will explore what is new about the second edition and, of course, we will talk about accessible games. Michael edited the magazine of accessible gaming for years and probably knows as much about the history of accessible gaming as does anyone around today.
Seldom has one person played such a pivotal role as Michael Faire played in the area of accessible games. He has lots to share.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tech Tips on Tuesday Topics. For the last few Tuesday Topics we have dealt with some fairly heavy topics. I thought it might be fun to share new things on this next show. How I spend my days as someone who is retired involves the use of a variety of technologies. I spend a good deal of time with baseball, lots of time with music, some time with podcasts, some time watching TV
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
For the last six decades there has been debate about whether there is such a thing as "disability culture". There has also, by extension, been a serious question as to whether such a thing as blindness culture exists. Most people would accept that there is "deaf culture". Many would accept that there is such a thing as "black culture", "women's culture" and "lgbtq culture". However, those who have spent time identifying and exploring culture are opposed by those who argue that the interrelationships that operate are insufficient to be called "culture" when applied to people who are blind or have low vision. Are there characteristics that we can identify that would justify saying there is a "blindness culture"? Does this culture apply to all people who are blind? How does it impact us if it is real? Is it a good thing? Should we be proud of it? Should we do things to promote it?
It is not my intention to make this discussion a sterile, erudite exploration of carefully articulated notions. Instead, I am interested in exploring with you whether there is an identity that operates for those of us who are blind that is strong enough to be measured and noticed. Finally, there is an elephant lurking in the room. Are there factors that are making blindness culture go away? There are lots of "cultures" that were widespread in our country in the past that are far less influential and pervasive than they used to be. Is "blindness culture" in that category? Does it matter? Help us define and perhaps validate "blindness culture". It could be more important than it might seem. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
How ought one to choose a person with whom you wish to have a long-term relationship? We have lots of instances of partnerships between people who are blind and people who are fully sighted. We also have partnerships between two folks who are blind. Is there a difference? Does a relationship between two people who are blind work better? Does a relationship between blind and sighted people work best? Is that the right question? What are the factors which make the two kinds of relationships different from each other? What are the strengths of each? Share what has and has not worked for you.
Tuesday Topics will continue a tradition we began last year. We explored last year just how ACB was going to vote during a totally digital convention. This year we are dealing with a different animal in that our convention in Omaha Nebraska will be a "hybrid convention". In other words, we have to meet the needs of those folks who are at home and do not choose to attend our ACB meetings in person and the requirements of those who have decided they want to be at our conference in person! How does this change how we will handle votes! How will we handle amendments to our governing documents if there are any? What if we don't finish everything by the time of our last in-person meeting. The Voting Task Force has at least some of the answers to these questions and will also discuss how a one week convention has suddenly grown and why!
I am not sure just who will be a part of the task force group but I think we can expect to hear from Patrick Sheehan, Ray Campbell, John McCann and Koni Sims. We may have some others but I know we will have an exciting discussion that I hope many of you will join in. We plan to allow for lots of questions during our time together. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We will discuss how moving affects people who are blind; advantages people who are born blind have over those who lose their vision later in life; April Fool’s Day tricks; and Easter traditions.
Last week I completed the sale of my house in Miami. This was sort of traumatic for me and it has led me to ask how well those of us who are blind deal with change. I know I have found relocating to Jacksonville somewhat difficult. How is it for other people who are blind? Call in and tell us. What can we do to make it easier? What is hardest about leaving an environment you have grown accustomed to and friends you have had for many years? Another area I have been thinking about lately is how we perceive folks who lose their vision later in life. Many people think that those of us who were born blind have it easier and are better adjusted to our disability. Is this actually true? Do people who have vision for much of their lives actually know more about what society expects and have a better attitude to work and inclusion in society which people born blind lack? What are the pros and cons for those who are congenitally blind (born that way) and those who are adventitiously blind (get that way later)? I have two other topics I thought we might get to later in the program. Can you tell me about an April Fool's experience that was pretty amazing? I hope so. I remember one person who managed to get me every year while he did it! Do you remember who that "his It started in the early eighties or maybe even in the seventies!
What kind of Easter traditions do you have? I suspect that many of us have family habits that others might enjoy hearing about! Call in and share some of them! Do you dye real eggs and hide them? Do you have Easter egg hunts that are designed to be more accessible to people who are blind? If you use plastic eggs, what is inside them? Enquiring minds want to know about your Easter! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Perhaps the most valuable awards offered by the American Council of the Blind, at least in monetary terms, are the Durward K. McDaniel award and the Morgan-Chase Leadership Fellows award. Tuesday Topics this week will hear from members of the committee that oversees these awards. We will hear from some of the winners and what they have been up to since winning the awards and, along the way, we will hear from folks who remember Durward McDaniel. We will learn why he has this and another award named after him and some of those who knew him will tell us more about his accomplishments, his life and the work he did to make ACB the organization it is today!
My guest is Anisio Correia whose name may not be all that familiar to all of you. He was born in Portugal, has been blind all his life, I think, and has managed to have a distinguished career during which he served people who are blind for the most part. What is it like coming to a new country? What was it like to be blind in Portugal? Why serve people who are blind? How have services changed during the thirty or forty years Anisio has served? How to services for people who are blind seem now?
These are some of the questions I will raise with my friend and guest Anisio Correia! What will you ask him? Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week I would like to propose three ideas for your delectation. If you find none of them delectable, we will be in serious trouble. However, you have not let me down yet! First, I thought it might be of interest to explore our experiences with books that feature blind people. My experience suggests that literature has contributed some to the attitude of society to those of us who are blind. How are we depicted? What are the worst depictions you remember? Have there been any good ones? What would make a depiction good! You can talk about TV shows or movies, if you like! My real intention is to talk about how we are perceived by those who get rich writing about us! Second, Easter is coming along fairly early this year! What customs do you follow? Do you do Easter eggs? What special stuff do you eat? Would you like to talk about Passover instead? What about Ash Wednesday and Good Friday?
Third and hopefully last, I want to begin to look at another element of non-verbal communication. We are going to do a whole show relatively soon. I want to explore blind people and pictures. As a child I saw lots of pictures particularly in books produced by the Royal National Institute for the Blind as it was then. I was remarkably unimpressed with them. My friend Brian Charlson shamed me by being able to identify pictures of different animals that were tactile drawings shown at a convention we attended together! He lost his sight at eleven, I think. Can we do more to make pictures accessible to people who are blind? Is it worth the effort? Can people born blind benefit much? How would we explain such things as perspective? How do paintings that are flat convey three dimensions? We need to at least understand what we don't know if we are to decide whether we want to know it or not! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Over the past year, there has been a lot of change in the way that the American Council of the Blind shows itself to the world. Our web site is quite new and is meant to appeal as much to those who seek us out as to those of us who are members. Last year, ACB Media arrived! What is it? What can be access there? Why have we focused away from individual elements like blogs, radio, and podcasts to a single repository? What advantages does it offer? What are recent changes? What can we look forward to in the future? What are some of the new things we can do? How do we do them? Paul will talk with ACB Media manager, Jennifer Flatt, and the newest full-time ACB employee, Rick Morin. Your feedback is welcome.
braille as our subject. Braille is the medium used by many people who are blind to read and write. It also represents the initials of one of the affiliates of the American Council of the Blind, the Braille Revival League. We will talk about that organization and what it is doing. The Perkins Braille Writer is seventy years old. Many of us would have said it was older than that! We will talk a little about that! We will explore a recent event sponsored by the New York affiliate of the Braille Revival League and we will also discuss an upcoming training class in grade three braille that might well interest some of you as it excites me. We will also open up for questions about braille, the Braille Revival League and just what some of the issues that currently surround braille are. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week we will get a chance to review the year that was and look forward to the year that is ahead with Eric Bridges who is Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind. With Eric will be Clark Rachfal who leads our legislative effort at the capitol. This is Clark's first appearance on Tuesday Topics so we will find out some about his background. He is an avid fitness person so I suspect we will hear something about ACB'S efforts to make more equipment used for exercise accessible to our members. You will, of course, have a chance to ask Questions and to raise issues. What do Eric and Clark think the major accomplishments of ACB were last year. What about 2022? Are there big plans for this year? What are they? How do we accomplish change at a time of political gridlock? Can we get more done at the state and local level? Has the pandemic left unmet needs? Does the new work environment favor or hinder people who are blind? How will the post-covid political environment affect people who are blind? These are, of course, just some of the questions we will probably discuss during our state of the council review! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Meet some of the members of the ACB awards committees; award recipients; and learn about the people for whom some of the awards are named. How are winners chosen? How can you become involved in the awards process? Recipients must be nominated to receive an award. Thus, you are an invaluable part of the awards process.
Last week we talked about some of the characteristics of last year. However, we did not come close to discussing all the elements of last year. 2020 seemed like a year when race relations took some steps forward. How was 2021? What did ACB accomplish in 2021? How has service delivery to newly blinded people changed with COVID? What about school for children who are blind? We heard nothing about music from last year! We didn't hear much about movies or television! Are there cool examples you can share? In your states have there been good or bad things that made 2021 stand out? How about in your towns or cities? Is there something that happened to you that made 2021 special. I almost died and that does a lot to change the perspective that one brings to the rest of one's life! I suppose it may seem that we are looking into the immediate past too much but, for me, examining and understanding what has gone before is the only way to be able to appropriately guess at what is to come. So, as well, we may want to ask what 2021 has left behind for us! Please be a part of Tuesday Topics tonight! I will be very lonely without you! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This is a reminder for you not to miss being a part of evaluating 2021 now that it's gone! Tuesday Topics will happen for the first time in 2022 on January 4 from 7 to 9 PM. It will in fact be our third attempt to talk about the year that will be was by the time we do the program. Without my knowledge, the Tuesday Topics folks and other friends of mine decided that it would be nice to do an issue of Tuesday Topics consisting of recollections from friends of mine surrounding my birthday. Today I turned 76 so it was a celebration that occurred on my birthday eve. It was wonderful to see how many folks turned up and how many who couldn't be there who sent good wishes. There are lots of heartwarming greetings and stories during the show last night and, while it may seem a little egoistic, I commend it to your attention. I was very surprised and amazed by how many folks came to the birthday bash! Thanks everyone! On Tuesday January 4 2022 Tuesday Topics will ask all of you to turn up to talk about 2021. 2021 has been quite a year! We have had lots of events occur! There were lots of things we can be proud about and perhaps some things that we would like to have changed. I thought it might be fun to do a really wide-ranging program on the best and the worst. Perhaps it will become the first of an annual happening! What was the best song you heard? What song absolutely drove you crazy it was so bad? What about books? Was there a particularly cool book you read in 2021 which you would like to share? It doesn't have to have been published this year though it would be cool if it was. What about the best television show? What even happened for people who are blind that was cool this year? Was there a big visually impaired bust you'd like to share with us and I am not referring here either to breasts or statues! Did you discover a new app this year that is really cool? Did you find a new store you think we should know about? Did you meet someone you think was cool you'd like to tell us about?
If it seems to you that this show is wide open, you are a discerning participant. Every year has a character all its own! 2021 is no different! If you had to think of a single word for this year, what would it be? Our Tuesday Topic this week is everything 2021! We need you to share your 2021 with us and to comment on our 2021 highlights. Was it a "very good year" or can we hardly wait till it fades into yesterday on January the first! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week, many friends of Paul Edwards gather to wish him a happy 76th birthday. This was a big surprise to Paul and it turned out to be a wonderful and memorable 2 hours.
tonight, then, will be New Year's Resolutions! What can we do in advance to make it more likely we can actually make them more than remembrances of things past was March? What are good resolutions? Have you made some resolutions which you have kept religiously or which you have spectacularly failed to keep? We want to hear about your Resolutions History! If we exhaust this topic, I thought it might be fun to do a first pass concerning climate change! Is it real? Does it have special consequences for people who are blind? Should ACB be doing anything about it? If so, what? If not, why not? Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
I thought it might be fun to see if folks have run across particularly cool presents for blind people this year. I will talk about a few but would welcome calls from sellers of products or folks who have thought of or bought cool presents.
First, welcome back to the co-chairs of the Audio Description Project Committee, Kim Charlson and Carl Richardson. They have both been guests in the past and have kept you informed of what the ADP Committee is up to at various points over the last year. Paul also welcomes Barry Cronin, who will be playing a major role in the gala. These three folks know more between them about audio description than most of the rest of us put together. You can support the AD Awards Gala and ACB’s Audio Description Project by donating here or call 1-888-444-8320 to make your donation by phone. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Get your holiday shopping done. Hear about current ACB affiliate fundraisers and from Leslie Spoone about the upcoming holiday auction.
All of our discussions will center around holidays! How do blind people feel about Halloween? How do blind parents handle the holiday? What about blind children? What was your experience as a child with Halloween? Did you like it? Were you nervous about it? Did you like parties better than trick or treating? And then there are other holidays! Thanksgiving! Christmas! Easter! Valentine's day! How are those holidays for people who are blind? How were they for you when you were a child? How about now that you are an adult? Are holidays worse or better for people who are blind nowadays? Join us as we explore celebrating Halloween and other holidays! Perhaps celebration is not the right word! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Are we being protected by white cane laws? How should we handle white cane safety? October is also Disability Employment Awareness Month. The employment rate for people who are blind remains at 30 percent, leaving 70 percent of people who are blind not employed. Why is that? Can anything be done to fix it?
During the first hour I want to talk about the new wave of covid 19. Is it different from the earlier one? Is our country handling it well? Has it affected people who are blind more? Where do we think we go from here? When we are through with the discussion of the pandemic, I am going to try something very different! I suppose we could call it open mike. The idea is that we will let those of you who are there decide what we will talk about. I hope that, among other things, you will give me some ideas about what you would like Tuesday Topics to talk about in the future.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Join Paul to provide your feedback on this year’s ACB convention and for a discussion on state and special-interest affiliates.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week we are continuing last week’s discussion with the same group of folks about our constitution and bylaws. They will be able to report to us what happened during the meeting of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee last Thursday. We will only go for an hour, allowing folks to attend the final meeting of the groups that are discussing the changes to our governing documents in preparation for our business meeting this weekend at which we will vote on the final proposals.
Episode Notes Tuesday Topics welcomes committee members about the constitutional changes that we will be considering on the 14th. From the Constitution and Bylaws committee we have Dan Spoone and John McCann. From the Voting Task Force we have Jeff Thom, Patrick Sheehan and Koni Simms. Our two hour program should give us enough time to not only get a clear idea of what the proposals are and are not. The folks on our call receive feedback from callers before the proposals are formally made.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
On Tuesday Topics this week, I would like to do some dreaming while we are awake! ACB is working in lots of areas now! However, there may well be an area that you would like to see our organization concentrate on. What might that be? Maybe you would like more particularity on an issue that ACB is already working on! Perhaps you think there is a huge gap with an issue that ACB really needs to focus on! In any case, what we are interested in on Tuesday Topics is your notion of what our priority issue in ACB ought to be. We will explore your ideas and talk about how best to make them happen! ACB is your organization! What do you want it to be doing? What I am hoping will happen is that we will come up with a list of priorities during our first hour. During our second we will talk about how good the ideas are and what we need to do to make them happen! A new direction is no good unless it works so it will be fun to explore how to turn dreams into reality!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
I thought it might be interesting to talk about a question that is widely debated by people who are blind and also by people with other disabilities. Despite the passage of the ADA and the Rehab Act, the unemployment rate among people who are blind remains quite high. In fact it does not appear to have changed significantly over the last thirty years. Why is that? What can we do to change it? Is the situation worse for people who are blind than it is for people with other disabilities?
There have been a few times in my life when I have sat in a bar for a long time because the conversation was just too good to miss! My guest on Tuesday Topics this week was responsible for a conversation that started in a bar, continued through dinner and ended much later outside in the late evening. My guest has three books on BARD, at least. He has won the Ned E. Freeman award and has probably appeared more often in the ACB Braille Forum than any other author. He is a long time proponent of braille; he has become deeply involved in aging issues; and is not interested in theory. He wants to know what can actually be done to make things better for people who are blind. My guest is, of course, Larry Johnson from San Antonio Texas. That is where Larry is now but, as you will see if you tune in, it is by no means the only place he has been!
Tuesday Topics - Resolutions: Paul Edwards’ first ACB convention was in 1984. While he thinks he would have come regardless of the offer made to him by Grant Mack, who was then President of ACB, it certainly helped to make his decision. Mr. Mack had come to Florida where Paul was in charge of resolutions and offered him $100 to come to Philadelphia and chair resolutions. Paul says, “I had no idea what I was getting into but, if you join us next Tuesday, you will hear some of the things that happened. I am hoping that some of the folks who used to be part of resolutions will join us. We will tell some stories of what resolutions used to be like. In addition, we will talk about what resolutions are; how they get written; what makes a good resolution; and what makes a bad one! I will encourage some of you who come to actually be a part of writing a resolution. Obviously, I and others may be up there to help you get resolutions right, but we will also show how resolutions can go wrong. If you operate with some simple rules, resolutions are pretty easy to write. What are they? Do resolutions have to be long? Tune in and find out!” Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
For the first hour we are going to talk about some of the controversy that has appeared on the "acb conversation" email list. Essentially there has been a lot of discussion of whether we need two different votes. This year we will have them but many wonder whether affiliate votes might go away. Are there special issues for special interest affiliates? Have they historically been effective at election time or not? During the second hour or so we will see if we still have issues with voting and special interest affiliates. If the topic is exhausted, I would like to explore some of the options that Tuesday Topics has for the future. What would folks like us to talk about! What do people like and what do you not like? This may seem boring but I hope people will think seriously about how best Tuesday Topics can meet your needs and interests.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics will welcome Gerard Williams who will be talking about his role at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a 504 officer. He will also be talking about the initiative being undertaken by the FCC to create more broadband access. He is not an attorney and does not have the authority to answer legal questions, for the most part. I am looking forward to seeing what a 504 officer does and how what he does relates to people who are blind, have low vision or are blind with secondary disabilities such as hearing impairments. During the second hour, we will talk about some pending FCC issues. There is currently opportunity to comment on where we are with the CVAA which passed in 2010. What kind of changes is it realistic for us to look for with the act. The FCC is interested in knowing what regulations we would like to see changed. Congress would need to change the law if we want to make changes that go beyond the parameters of the current law. How well has emergency communications worked for us during the pandemic? Both the NFB and ACB strongly support the need for the use of the SAP (secondary Audio Program) channel for communicating with people who are blind or have low vision during times of emergency. Was this facility used much during the pandemic in your area? Did you feel that there was a lot of conformation that was being communicated visually about the pandemic that was not being made available to people who are blind or have low vision? We will explore these and other audio description questions during our second hour!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Finding the Money: How does ACB do its budget every year? Where does our income originate? How much money do we have in the bank or in investments? Is ACB healthy financially? Or should we be worried? These are just some of the questions we will explore as we invite our President, Dan Spoone; our treasurer, David Trott; and our Director of Resource Development, Anthony Stephens. These three exemplary gentlemen will help us get a picture of how the work ACB does is funded. I think that those of you who tune in will have a lot to think about as we explore the financial well-being of ACB! Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Meet Jeff Bishop: He is a member of ACB'S Board of Directors; a driving force with ACB Radio; has taken a leadership role in the development and implementation of the "ACB LINK" app; and is leading the effort to combine various ACB elements into a media network that will revolutionize how ACB’s media content can be accessed.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Turn about is fair play! Tuesday Topics will feature Rick and Larry as my guests. We will explore who these two fine gentlemen are and, later in the program, we will explore some new ideas for ACB RADIO with your help! Both Rick and Larry have interesting pasts. Rick has survived in the world of business as a partially sighted executive. Larry has done a variety of jobs, I think, and has just retired! Both are active with ACB RADIO.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics: We will be discussing life after a year of the pandemic. What kinds of disadvantages have people who are blind experienced? What do we need to ask local, state and national entities to do to make the next major emergency easier to handle? As the pandemic eases, what can we expect as people who are blind? Will jobs be easier or harder to find? Will services be easier or harder to access? Our second topic is more directly related to ACB. What is the difference between a state affiliate and a special interest affiliate? We are holding thirteen ACB elections during the convention. How should affiliates try to see how their members want them to vote? We will see how you feel about the state of our affiliates and what their future might look like!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics: Over the past several months the American Council of the Blind Has made a number of changes to its email system. This week we have invited many of the key players in the email changes to come and explain what was done and why. Deb Cook Lewis, Katie Frederick, and Jason Castonguay are just a few that will join us in a narrative of the transition process. Folks will also offer tips about some appropriate ways to handle some everyday email tasks. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics: On this week’s call, the roles are reversed, as Paul Edwards will put himself under the microscope to be interviewed by Deborah Kendrick. Among the topics that will be discussed will be Paul’s travels and work in advocacy for those with disabilities. Others will have an opportunity to ask questions as well. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics: Join Paul this week as he speaks with Scott Marshall, a personal mentor and friend. They will spend two hours talking about Scott's experience in law school as a blind person, his work for ACB in the 80's, and other jobs he has done over the years. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics: This week Janet Dickelman, Chair of the Convention Committee for ACB, will stop by to give us an update on this summer’s convention and talk a bit about future conventions that have been scheduled. We will also have an opportunity to learn a bit more about Janet herself, maybe find out some of her likes and dislikes and some of her life experiences. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
As things stand, it is the intention of ACB to hold elections during our virtual ACB convention! How will it work! Who gets to vote! How will nominations from the floor be handled? How will votes be tallied? What if there are more than two candidates and nobody gets a majority? These are just a few of the many questions that surround the issue of voting at our 2021 convention. Dan Spoone will be with us along with Voting Task Force co-chairs Jeff Thom and Patrick Sheehan and many others to talk about the voting process. What a way for Tuesday Topics to return!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics: Paul’s guest this week is a former President of ACB, an expert on the ADA, Vice-President of the North American and Caribbean section of the World Blind Union and a former President of our California affiliate. Mitch Pomerantz did not grow up as an ACB member. We will explore how he came to ACB and what his arrival along with many others meant to our organization. If you would like to raise questions with Mitch or just discuss some of the areas he has expertise, join us. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics: Paul welcomes the Director of the Division of Blind Services of the state of Florida, Robert Doyle. How does an agency that is doing well adapt when the pandemic essentially shuts it down? How are counselors retrained to do jobs from home and on line? Florida has more than fifteen local programs that deliver services to people who are blind. How do you measure their success or failure in a new and unfamiliar environment. And what about the Business Enterprise program many of whose facilities have been forced to close? These are just some of the questions we will explore. We will also look beyond the pandemic. Mr. Doyle is active on both national organizations of rehab leaders. We will see what role he sees them playing with the new administration. Of course we will also talk about WIOA. You will get a chance to ask your questions as well. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics: What has a person who has worked with people who are blind all over the world gleaned about their job readiness. What are some of the characteristics that make success at work likely? Our guest this week on Tuesday Topics is in a unique position to answer these questions. She has devoted much of her career to working on transition and employment. Karen Wolffe has worked with the American Foundation for the Blind and has consulted with many countries and states. We will talk specifically about some work she has done for Florida over the past three to four years on the development of a new vocational evaluation tool specifically designed to measure the job readiness of people who have vision loss, and talk about work she is doing with the World Blind Union on employment. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
We are overjoyed to welcome back ACB'S President, Dan Spoone. We will talk about 2020, 2021 and will end with a discussion of the Voting Task Force. Dan must leave us to go to a meeting of that group so I thought we might use his discussion of where the group is and what plans there are to springboard a discussion of the whole voting issue for the last half hour of the show. Rick Morin, Larry Gassman and Katie Frederick will be among the team making our show happen. Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Episode Notes This episode of Tuesday Topics has two for the price of one...... Debbie Hazelton and Cindy Hollis, perhaps the most popular presenter at state conventions this Fall and the heart and soul of the community radio revolution, join Paul to talk about their plans for Christmas 2020 and New Year's 2021 on ACB Radio and the Community calls. Cindy Hollis is Paul's first repeat guest. Cindy and Debbie also tell us about their childhoods and career and how they got involved with ACB.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Episode Notes Ninety miles off the coast of the United States is the island of Cuba. 11.3 million people, according to 2020 figures, live on an island which, since the early 1960s, has had a communist government. Paul's guests on this episode of Tuesday Topics grew up there and give us a glimpse of what life was like for people who are blind in Cuba. Roberto and Danays Perez now live in Miami. Roberto has become quite a tech star here and his wife, Danays, had an amazing musical career in Europe. Paul had the honor of attending their wedding. Roberto is currently treasurer of the Miami Beach chapter of the Florida Council of the Blind. Both Roberto and Danays are thoughtful and caring people who are blind with a compelling story. Adjusting to a new country, a new style of government and a whole new set of expectations is not easy! An incredible story of triumph and a touching love story!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Episode Notes In this episode of Tuesday Topics, Mark Richert is Paul's guest. Mark has had a long and distinguished career working in the disability field. He is currently First Vice President of the American Council of the Blind and interim Executive Director of the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). Mark talks about his experience, the state of the blindness scene and where people who are blind might work to change the future.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Episode Notes Imagine what it might have been like for a little girl in a small village in Vietnam to lose her sight at the age of eight and suddenly be seen as a liability rather than an asset to her family. Imagine what it must have been like for a teenager who is blind to leave Vietnam where she was successful and felt useful and suddenly find herself at a school for the blind in Massachusetts where there were new things to learn and a whole new culture to acquire. Imagine a shy college student having to find a way to make friends and adjust to college without much help. All of these problems were faced and overcome by Anna Kim Lan McCauley, Paul's guest on this episode of Tuesday Topics. She published a book that is now available on BARD called "Miles From Home". Paul and Anna spend time talking about what Anna has done since 1984 and also discuss many things that didn't make it into her book.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Episode Notes This episode of Tuesday Topics Paul speaks with Jim Kracht, a friend who happens as well to have an interesting life. He is a current Board member of ACB who has lived a very full life, has a most interesting hobby and knows more about lots of things than I will ever know. Jim started out in California and ended up in Miami by way of Harvard Law. We discuss his history, his family, his passions and hobbies, along with his latest work with voting in Florida and beyond.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Episode Notes Patti Cox, President of the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI) joins Paul Edwards, President of the Braille Revival League to discuss what the two ACB affiliates are doing and what their goals are. Our topic this week should interest people who are totally blind and those with some vision.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Re-live election night's Tuesday Topics with Paul Edwards! Callers relate their experiences and their impressions of how things went before and on election day. Anthony Corona joins Paul bringing the enthusiasm and knowledge he has demonstrated on Sunday Edition for the last several months. Paul and Anthony explore the elements of this historic election with callers from around the country. Callers tell their stories of voting in person at the polls and remotely. You may be surprised by what the callers have to say!
Dr. Joel Snyder explores the history and future of audio description. How did audio description start? Who did it? Why has closed captioning become ubiquitous while audio description has to fight for hours? It's ten years since the CVAA was passed; the anniversary is this month! Should we push for changes? There are very few people who have the comprehensive knowledge of audio description that is possessed by the ACB Director of the Audio Description Project, Joel Snyder.
Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum answers questions about two surveys that shed much light on the impact of the pandemic on people who are blind. It seems like an age ago that the pandemic began. It is therefore not surprising if most of us have given little thought to an event that occurred fairly early on. It was a survey that ACB sponsored along with fifteen or so other organizations and companies. Its objective was to gather data on how people with visual impairments were affected by the pandemic. A little later a second survey explored the impact of the pandemic on education. Dr. L. Penny Rosenblum has played a huge part in administering the examination of the data from the surveys and preparing a report that has just been released. Dr, Penny tells us a little about her life as a partially sighted professor and researcher and a lot about the results of the surveys. Among other things the first survey explored transportation, technology, voting, employment, access to medical care and other things. What were its findings? What do they tell us about being blind in a pandemic? What can we learn about changes that must be made in the future?
This episode of Tuesday Topics explores what telling our stories has to do with our ability to raise dollars. What kind of image do we want to communicate? Why are our stories relevant? Who are we trying to communicate with? Are we making an effort to define what it means to be blind for ourselves as well? Anthony (Tony) Stephens is on his second tour with ACB. Now he directs our efforts to raise money but does a lot more. Paul visits with Tony, find out a little about who he was before he became a part of ACB, what he is currently working on and what his vision for ACB is.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
There is an old saying that says: "a one-eyed man is king in the country of the blind." Only ten percent of those who are legally blind are totally blind according to statistics I have seen. In ACB, how are partials doing? Are they represented in proportion to their numbers? If not, why not? Do the issues facing people with some usable vision get enough attention in our resolutions or in our policy efforts? Should we be doing more to encourage the participation of people with some vision? These are just some of the questions that we explore in this episode of Tuesday Topics. David Trott, Treasurer of ACB and one of the few partially sighted Board members is joined by my co-host Rick Morin who also has functioned for much of his life with good usable vision are on the panel.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
On Friday, September 11th 2020, Charlie Crawford passed away. During his long life he made many friends, did many wonderful things, lived by a set of principles I admired and was my friend. This two hour episode of Tuesday Topics is devoted to a celebration of Charlie's life. You will hear the good things, the funny things, the passions, the principles and the panache that were all a part of who Charlie was. Many of those who knew Charlie join Paul Edwards as they explore the Commissioner, the Executive Director, the humanist, the computer genius advocate and my friend who was and is Charlie Crawford.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Find out what younger members of ACB are doing and expect from ACB! Amanda Selm is President of ACB'S newest affiliate: ACB Next Generation. Minh Ha is President of ACB Students. Both of these young women are guests on this episode of Tuesday Topics. They tell us what their affiliates are up to and a little about themselves. They will also give us a chance to discuss the recruitment of younger members. What can state and special interest affiliates do to help these two organizations? How can these organizations help our state and special interest affiliates? We all say we want younger members. Are we encouraging or discouraging them from joining?
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
At our ACB convention this year there was a short presentation at our General session from Lee Nasehi, chair of the Vision Serve Alliance. If you didn't hear her presentation, you will get a chance to learn much more about an organization which is in the process of reinventing itself. At its heart, the Alliance is an association of private agencies that serve people who are blind. Lee will tell us about some of the new initiatives that Vision Serve is working on. Also on our panel will be Ellie Dupre, who is Executive Director of Florida Agencies Serving the Blind (FASB). She will describe what that organization is all about and will also tell us about some exciting new initiatives that FASB is working on. At the heart of things, this show is about how private agencies are doing serving people who are blind. What is new? How can ACB and our affiliates help make things better? How do we deal with the looming crisis of serving seniors who are blind? I
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
It seems amazing that we are now six months into the pandemic, but we are. When Tuesday Topics first started we did a show that tried to explore some of the ways that people who are blind were affected by covid-19. We looked at positives and negatives. I want us to do that again, six months into the crisis and see if our feelings have changed. How is keeping our distance going? How do other community members react to us when we go out? How are guide dogs doing with the pandemic? How well are apps holding up? Have things gotten better or worse over the last few months? Are you more likely or less likely to go out now than you were a couple of months ago? How do you feel about masks? Do masks affect whether you will go out or not? What about public transit? What about other services? How has education been? What about services from agencies for the blind? Do you feel that you are being discriminated against by what the pandemic has brought? These and other questions will be a part of our open forum on the state of the pandemic! Help us and listeners understand how Covid has affected you!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics is now old enough to drink and old enough to vote everywhere. It is fitting, therefore, that we talk a little about voting at ACB and its affiliates. It will happen at 7 PM on Tuesday August 25. If you are going to be participating with us be on our Zoom connection at 6:45 Eastern Daylight Time. We want to take a long view and look back at where ACB came from and how our voting approaches have evolved. My guests are going to be Brian Charlson who has been a long-time leader of ACB. Also Jeff Thom will be back. He is a former chair of the ACB Voting Task Force. Penny Reeder is immediate past President of Guide Dog Users Inc. (GDUI) and will, among other things, tell us about the remote voting system that GDUI has used for several years. We will not only be looking at the past but will try to look into the future to explore options we can use for voting. It seems easy to just say that remote voting should be implemented but, as we shall see, there are lots of issues. We will hear about California's approach and also that of BPI (Blind Pride International) who already use a remote voting system.
we will be discussing our twentieth topic! Time flies when you are having fun! Thank you so much, Rick as in Morin! You are what makes this little plane fly, sir! This week we are going to discuss getting older which all of us do! However, we will focus on those blind people who are old enough to call themselves seniors. Some of us become seniors having been blind most or all of our lives. Others only get to find out what it's like to be blind after they are seniors themselves. All seniors who are blind share the reality that there are very few services for them compared to those available for people who are going to work. They are also a part of a population that is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. As people live longer, they are more likely to lose all or some of their vision. How can ACB and its affiliates help seniors get better served? How can we recruit more of those seniors new to blindness? I have three guests on Tuesday Topics. Sandra (Sandy) Troiano has only been blind for ten years and she is barely a senior. Jeff Thom is President of the ACB special interest affiliate dedicated to the needs of this population: the Association on Aging and Vision Loss (AAVL). Terry Pacheco has recently started a series of community calls on aging and how we can adjust to it. I am also a senior! I will be seventy-five this year. Many of you who listen and participate can also take pride that you, too, have reached senior status.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
For long term, happy partnerships which is better; a relationship between two blind people or a relationship between a blind person and a sighted partner? I believe there will be strong opinions on both sides of this question. For the purposes of this debate, two partials equals two blind people. Do join us for our first "great debate".
Tuesday Topics takes a look at people who have hearing loss as well as vision loss. Deborah Kendrick has written a new book about people who are blind who have hearing loss. She explores the problems multiple disabilities create and also looks at resources that are out there for people who must operate with two disabilities. We will also have a representative from SASI (the Sight and Sound Impaired committee of ACB). They are the group that is responsible for dealing with folks who have hearing loss and blindness at our conventions and elsewhere. Lori Scharff will be their representative and will tekl us what SASI does between conventions and what plans they have for the future.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
My guests on this week's Tuesday Topics have recently lunched a new podcast called "picture this". Brian Charlson, current President of the Bay State Council and immediate past President of Library Users of America and former First Vice-President of ACB, has been an active advocate for audio description since it began. Carl Richardson is Co-Chair of ACB'S audio Description Project Committee. He knows more than most of us ever knew about audio description. Both of them will talk about their podcast and be grilled about other aspects of audio description. What are the current options that are out there? What is in our immediate future where description is concerned? What are the problems we face? How can we solve them? What can ACB and its members do?
Tuesday Topics is excited to welcome a distinguished duo to discuss the ADA at 30. Chris Bell is a distinguished attorney who was directly involved in writing the ADA and worked for many years for the government and later as a law partner to oversee its implementation and enforcement. He has published several seminal articles on the ADA and is acknowledged to be an expert on this subject Claire Stanley works as an advocacy specialist for the American Council of the Blind and was hardly born when the ADA came into effect. She is a trained attorney and, despite her youth, has a long history of advocacy work. I have spent thirty years trying to make sense of the ADA and, with the three of us available for conversation and questions, by the end of our two hour show, we should know a good deal about where the ADA stands.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Tuesday Topics is now two hours which should give people lots of time to talk about their likes and dislikes concerning the ACB convention. My co-producer of Tuesday Topics will be featured during the first hour to tell us more about how he herded cats and juggled streams during the convention. Rick Morin was awesome and I want him to tell us more about how he did what he did and I hope he will tell us about some of the scary moments that we didn't notice because he fixed them just in time. It seems ridiculous given the avalanche of information we are getting this week at the convention for me to be suggesting that you plan to listen to something else next week. Nevertheless, Tuesday Topics will be back on the air on Tuesday, July 14th, Bastille day! I thought it might offer us a chance to talk about the convention that has just happened. I don't plan to have a guest. I want ACB folks to talk about the convention. Do you have suggestions for making it better? Were there things you didn't like? Were there things you thought were stupendous? I am not really interested in a love fest though I think that the accomplishments of those who made the convention happen are amazing! We can almost take their effectiveness for granted! What can we learn from this? What would you like to see next year? What about the program document? How was it? How about the codes? Were they distributed appropriately? Should people who registered receive other things? I hope lots of you will turn up to explore some of these questions.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This is a reminder to everyone to tune in tomorrow when Tuesday Topics will give you a chance to hear what will be broadcast where during the convention. I think that we will be able to tell which elements will be on which ACB Radio channels. The schedule for the virtual tours that will appear on the treasure Trove channel has already been published. But where will the exhibit hall be and what about affiliate meetings? My guest this week on Tuesday Topics will be Janet Dickelman, convention queen. Our show will occur three days before the convention starts and most of the infrastructure should be in place. So Janet should be able to tell us what will appear where and how we can do whatever we need to do during the convention.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week on Tuesday Topics we explore a question that demands attention. Do black blind lives matter enough? We know there is less likelihood that black blind people will be working and we know that blind black women fare even worse than their male counterparts. We think that ACB has fewer black members than we should but we currently have no way of knowing how many black members we have. Peggy Garrett and Cheryl Cumings from the Multicultural Affairs Committee will be my guests on the next Tuesday Topics and we will explore both what we believe and what we can do to make it better. We want you to join us with questions at 7:45 on Tuesday, June 23rd.
My guest on the next Tuesday Topics show on June 16th is Cindy Hollis who has been known as Cindy Van Winkle. She works as the membership and affiliate specialist for the American Council of the Blind. We will be talking about the huge proliferation of community calls during the pandemic. But we will also talk about the problems of attracting and maintaining members in ACB and what we can do about it! How do we attract younger members? Are we doing a good enough job of encouraging minority members? Are there differences between what a state affiliate and what a special interest affiliate need to do? You, of course, you will have the chance to ask Cindy questions or raise membership or affiliate issues if you choose to participate in our zoom call. If you would like to do that, please arrive at around 7:45 Eastern daylight time on Tuesday, June 16th.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week on Tuesday Topics we are conducting an open forum on working from home. I am hoping that lots of you who are working during the pandemic will call in to talk about your experiences. What has been easy? What has been hard? What adjustments have you had to make? Would you like to continue to do it after the pandemic is over? Are there new technologies you have had to learn? How successful have you been at learning them? Where do you see "working from home" going when a vaccine has been developed and the need to work from home is ended? These are just some of the questions we will explore.
My guest on this week's Tuesday Topics is Deborah Kendrick. Those of you who have been around for a while may remember her as the editor of TACTIC magazine. She has been a columnist for the Cincinnati Inquirer and a frequent contributor to Access World. She has written a new book which talks about how people who are blind can best navigate the daunting world of medicine. It is published (the National Braille Press and can be downloaded for free during the pandemic. Deborah will tell us why she wrote the book and you will get the chance to ask lots of questions if you participate in our Zoom call at 7:45222Eastern Daylight time on June 2nd.
Silence is the enemy of truth!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
This week on Tuesday Topics I am deeply honored to have as my guest, Carl McCoy. On May 16th Carl turned 93. I have known him since 1977 and he was the person, for better or for worse, who introduced me to both the Florida Council of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind. He has been a member of FCB longer than anyone else; served his time on the Board of the American Council of the Blind; has been Executive Director of the Florida Division of Blind Services but, more than all of there things, he has been a wise and compassionate friend.
This week on Tuesday Topics our guest is Sara Conrad. She is not only a member of the the ACB Board but also works as a patient advocate. This means she must coordinate services for patients and must also work to make sure that the treatment that is received in a hospital is both effective and appropriate. How are blind people being treated in hospitals? How has the pandemic affected their treatment? What if blind people are the caregivers for others who are in hospitals? Sara! and I will discuss these questions and many others and you will have a chance to raise your issues during our show. It is frightening to be ill! It is frightening to be alone during a pandemic in a hospital which may well be too preoccupied with other issues to be concerned much about your blindness.
During our first Tuesday Topics we asked what advantages blind people had with the pandemic. We also asked what was not going well. Brian Charlson and I will co-host the seventh Tuesday Topics and will lead a discussion to see what's changed for people who are blind over the last seven weeks. Are we doing better or worse? Are there issues we didn't see coming?
On Tuesday May the fifth Judy Wilkinson and Sheila Young were my guests. Each of them is President of a state affiliate. Judy is from California and Sheila is from Florida. How has the pandemic affected their affiliates? What have they done since it started in their states? How do they think the pandemic and its aftermath will impact the future of their affiliates? These are some of the questions we will explore and, of course, we will allow time for you, our loyal Tuesday Topic participants, to weigh in with your own comments and questions.
Your opinion is a valuable resource! Share it! xxxxx
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
On April 28th 2020, Tuesday Topics featured Eric Bridges, Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind. Obviously, he will tell us about some of the ways that ACB is responding to the pandemic and what he plans for the future. However, we will also get a chance to learn what it is like for two blind parents to home school a five year old boy and how the family is adjusting to a baby barely four months old. Of course, we will allow time for you, the participants who are at the heart of Tuesday Topics, to share what you want Eric to know and to ask about what you want to know from Eric.
Your opinion is a valuable resource! Share it!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Nobody knows where we will be in terms of the pandemic when the general elections are due to happen in November. There is already a call to make mail in ballots much more important than they have traditionally been. In some states a mail version of voting exists that is accessible and in others we are on the verge of having an approach. Tuesday Topics will look at what is happening and at what we can do to make sure that people who are blind or have low vision can vote privately, independently and verifiably in the November election either at a polling station or using a remote voting system.
Your opinion is a valuable resource! Share it!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
There are lots of legal and ethical issues that concern people who are blind that have come to the fore during the corona emergency. On Tuesday Topics this week we explore some of these. State guidelines exist that propose ways of choosing who will live and who will die if there aren't enough ventilators or other resources. Some of these have people with disabilities placed lower than others. What do we think of this and what should we do about it? Children who are blind are being home schooled on platforms that are not accessible and some states have essentially sought to limit the Civil Rights protections that guarantee full inclusion for kids who are blind. What do we think and what should we do? Lots of the information that is shown on tv screens during the emergency is not accessible. Because it is not designated as "emergency information" stations appear to be able to show such information without any regard for whether it discriminates against people who are blind or have low vision. What can we do about it? Your opinion is a valuable resource! Share it!
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Our second Tuesday Topics show features the President of ACB who will tell us more about himself and his experience and what he would like to see ACB doing during the pandemic that is a part of all our lives. Dan Spoone will tell us about growing up, his vision loss and what direction he wants ACB to go.
Of course, Dan will answer your questions as well. The stars of Tuesday Topics are those of you who provide the opinions and feedback that make this program the most effective way of making your voice heard.
Find out more at https://acb-tuesday-topics.pinecast.co
Hi, I'm Paul Edwards! For those of you who have been ACB Radio aficionados for many years, there will be a vague memory of an old and venerable show called "Tuesday Topics" which I hosted every week for a couple of years a long time ago. Well, Tuesday Topics is back and I hope many of you who used to join us will be back again! For those of you who are new to the show, here is what it's all about. Each week we choose a single topic and spend an hour talking about it. I get us started with an overview and often feature a guest or two who receive a special interview. Then we open it up for debate and end with a kind of summary of where we have arrived.
It worked well several years ago and I think it will work well again! Obviously, the first show is about our experience with the virus. However, we want to focus on how blind people are equipped to cope with the pandemic. What advantages do we as blind people have dealing with the virus? What disadvantages operate for us? What could make coping easier? What are we most concerned about from the perspective of people who are blind?
These are just some of the questions that we will explore when Tuesday Topics once again takes to the net.
Your opinion is a valuable resource! Share it!
This podcast is powered by Pinecast.