Good morning, it’s Thursday.
A number of years ago, I participated in a fundraiser called “Dining in the Dark.” Designed to support a local organization that supports individuals who are blind and/or visually impaired, this event pretty much is exactly as it sounds – an opportunity to dine blindfolded to briefly experience the skill required to navigate the world without sight.
Before we continue, I should note that I was not aware “Dining in the Dark” is also a for-profit roving culinary experience. Whether for charity or entertainment, however, the experience I think is worthy and something you should try if given the chance.
During the event I attended, each table was headed by a visual impaired or blind host who started the meal by explaining the tactics they use to navigate eating and drinking without sight.
These strategies include what’s known as the “clockface method” in which a sighted companion explains to the diner where everything is located on and around their plate using the positions of a clockface as a reference. (So, chicken at 3 o’clock, rice at 6 o’clock etc.)
Another option is to use one’s utensils as a version of a white cane, gliding the cutlery along the plate to locate food items. Holding the fork and/or knife further down the handle allows for better control, while adopting the European method of keeping the fork in one hand and not switching back and forth can make the entire experience smoother and slightly easier.
All of these tips and tricks were provided during the salad and appetizer courses. Then came the main event – the entree, before which we were tightly blindfolded. Servers instructed us about food positioning as they set the plates down, and then the fun began.
As it turns out, eating without being able to see your food is very difficult. And the sneaky event organizers had purposely picked things that require some dexterity to corral – like peas (roll around the plate) and chicken cutlet (needs cutting). Ultimately, since I knew no one could see me anyway, I resorted to using my hands over going hungry, but I certainly would not have done that if I knew others were watching.
This experience gave me new insight into just how difficult it is to navigate the world robbed of one of your key senses. Certainly, the world isn’t as interesting or vibrant without a sense of smell, but without sight, mobility, independence, and safety are severely impacted.
Today is White Cane Awareness Day (also known as White Cane Safety Day and Blind Americans Equality Day), created in the 1960s (and subsequently re-named by former President Barack Obama) to honor the contributions of blind and visually impaired Americans and raise awareness about the challenges they face in living fully independent lives.
The white cane was invented by (or maybe “conceptualized by” is a better term here) a British photographer named James Briggs who was blinded in an accident in 1921. He painted his walking stick white so it would be more easily seen by passing drivers while he navigated the streets near his home.
The white cane is actually not widely used by the 7 million to 12 million people across the U.S. who live with uncorrectable vision impairment or blindness. Only about 2 to 8 percent of those with low to no vision rely on them, opting instead for some other method (i.e. a guide dog, a sighted human guide, or assistive technology) to help them get around.
It will be cooler today, with highs struggling to get out of the 50s. Skies will be mostly sunny, though there will be a few clouds earlier in the day.
In the headlines…
Kimberly Guilfoyle’s forced resignation from her ambassador post was part of a larger pattern in President Donald Trump’s second term: The prominent figures who have departed the administration, either voluntarily or involuntarily, overwhelmingly are women.
Three days into her job, Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia is facing questions about whether she has embroidered her credentials. She describes herself as a lawyer, and the president called her “an attorney.”
Trump’s overall approval rating hit a record low for either of his terms, according to a new Fox News survey amid growing voter dissatisfaction with his handling of key issues.
The poll found 36 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s overall handling of the presidency, while 64 percent disapproved.
Two top Trump appointees, including the deputy secretary of State, have been embroiled in a monthslong fight with accusations of media leaks and “bizarre” threats of defamation, all over emails that included more than a dozen administration officials.
At a rally in Arizona, Trump suggested that people who leak sensitive information about the government to the media “should be shot,” calling them the “scum of the earth.”
Trump uses his Truth Social platform daily to shape the course of the war in Iran, announce new policies and share AI-generated videos of himself. But the audience for his social network is shrinking.
A 21-year-old woman reported that she was sexually assaulted last weekend at a fraternity house near the University of Chicago, the city police said, putting another campus on edge over accusations of misconduct tied to Greek life organizations.
Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff faced angry members of the school’s faculty at a meeting that underscored deep frustration over his administration’s handling of a woman’s report that she was gang raped at a fraternity house in 2024.
Ahead of a vote on a resolution of no confidence in Kotlikoff, some faculty members said they were not swayed by steps he announced on Tuesday, including banning fraternity parties.
Schools under scrutiny as Cornell is often follow a sort of public relations playbook, adding rules, hiring outside investigators and sometimes making leadership changes.
Democrat Cait Conley told Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) during a televised debate Wednesday night not to “mansplain” to her about domestic abuse as the pair discussed an alleged gang rape at a Cornell University fraternity in 2024.
The state Gaming Commission called on licensed mobile sports betting companies to take a greater role in identifying and supporting users at risk for problem gambling, and threatening to take further regulatory action if the companies won’t do it themselves.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is the latest official to call for closing the so-called “voluntary intoxication loophole” in order to make it easier for the state to prosecute rape cases where drugs and alcohol might have been involved.
Hochul said Wednesday that Mayor Zohran Mamdani made the right call to stick by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, despite mounting pressure from his fellow DSA members, calling it a “smart decision.”
Mamdani accused Blakeman of “bigotry and racism” for his comments during this week’s gubernatorial debate, despite admitting he didn’t watch the match-off live.
Knicks and MSG owner James Dolan’s firms pumped another $3 million into a Super PAC backing Blakeman — just hours before his Tuesday night debate with Hochul.
Mamdani’s allies are publicly breaking with him over his handpicked police commissioner, and the mayor is reportedly livid that the socialist House candidate he went out on a limb to endorse is leading the charge.
The enmity directed toward Mamdani from within the pro-Palestinian movement illustrates the challenge the wider left faces in corralling its insurgents.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin said that she will support a tax hike to fund universal child care during next year’s state budget process, putting her weight behind a proposal that Mamdani is also expected to pursue.
Central Park’s horse-drawn carriage drivers said they feel “betrayed” and forgotten after Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin struck a deal to ban the centuries-old practice.
Mamdani on Wednesday announced an initiative with New York University that would potentially make New York City equity partners in quantum research projects that come out of a new lab at the school.
Filing a FOIL request. Placing a 311 or 911 call. Applying for benefits or permits. These are all things that AI agents could soon be doing on behalf of New Yorkers — and the city is not ready for it.
National Grid customers in parts of New York City will see their natural gas bills increase this winter due to higher delivery costs.
A Brooklyn public school dean said Wednesday he was brutally assaulted by MTA fare inspectors last week after he got off a bus on his way to work.
The man shot and wounded by federal immigration agents in Marble Hill last week says that he didn’t know that the men who ambushed and shot him were U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents until he later woke up in the hospital.
A class-action lawsuit filed on Wednesday accused a real estate company run by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer of overcharging tenants at a waterfront apartment building in Brooklyn.
The bruising fight for the future of the Pierre at the southern edge of Central Park appeared to end with a whimper on Tuesday evening when a Saudi investor missed a deadline to make a deposit on his proposed $2 billion purchase of the building.
The 119-year-old Plaza Hotel will shut its gilded doors in January for a restoration of the 18-story building’s landmark facade, the hotel’s operators, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, announced on Wednesday.
Now under the ownership and operation of HVCC, the former College of Saint Rose performing arts venue, the Massry Center for the Arts, will serve as an educational resource for the college and a community arts hub.
Capital Region residents are expected to pay slightly less for natural gas this winter but electricity costs will likely continue to rise in the coming months, National Grid announced.
Capital Region and Hudson Valley residents are expected to join nationwide “No Kings: Vote Early” demonstrations Saturday as organizers urge constituents to make voting plans ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Luciano Frattolin, the Montreal man who killed his 9-year-old daughter before telling police she was kidnapped from a Northway rest stop, will spend decades in prison for murder and the concealment of the child’s body in a swamp.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
