ENDACOTT SOCIETY — October 2006
Retired Faculty and Staff of The University of Kansas — www.ku.edu/~emeritus
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SCHEDULED EVENTS
All activities meet at the Adams Alumni Center unless otherwise noted.
Afternoon Lecture Series
Roberta Spires (rspires@ku.edu, 842-6820), Mary Schweppe (schweppe@ku.edu, 842-1147), and Howard O'Connor (843-1884). Stan and Janet Roth (rothjs@hotmail.com, 843-4764), and Ellen Gold (8436933) are in charge of programs.
October 12—Program begins at 2:30; sherry at 2:00. Following the celebration of October birthdays, Professor Robert Rowland will speak (with apologies to Thomas Frank) on "It isn't just Kansas: What is wrong (and right) with political rhetoric." Professor Rowland is Chair of the Communication Studies Department, and has won several teaching awards.
Armchair Travel
Stitt Robinson (wsrobin@ku.edu, 843-1499)
October 26—Program at 2:30, coffee and tea at 2:00. Al and Jane Sellen will take us on river cruises of Europe, including the Danube and the Rhine.
Card and Game Theory
Ruth Ann Culvahouse (jwcul@ku.edu, 842-0626)
October 19—1:30 in the Paul Adam Lounge. The usual games of bridge and scrabble will be played. If you have an interest in playing a different game, please add it to the sign-up sheet at the Wednesday Coffee.
Cinema Studies
Grant Goodman (plim@ku.edu, 841-1066) and Fred Madaus (famous@ku.edu, 841-4939)
October 17—Film at 2:00, coffee at 1:45, in the Paul Adam Lounge. We we will see Charlie Chaplin as The Great Dictator with Jack Oakie. Feel free to bring your friends to see this classic film.
Computer Study
Jerry Niebaum (jniebaum@wizardofkansas.com, 842-3127)
October 4—9:00. Early users: Settings, desktop, system updates.
October 11—9:00. Applied computing: Music. (Kip Haaheim)
October 18—9:00. Application software: Financial (Quicken).
October 25—9:00. Dr. Fixit, Jerry Niebaum
Domestic Public Policy Study
Jim Drury (jdrury@ku.edu, 842-3308) and John Poertner (jpoertner@sunflower.com, 749-2599)
October 2—3:30. Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson will discuss current issues and developments in his department.
Drama Study Group
Arnold Weiss (ahweiss@ku.edu, 842-5502)
October 6—1:30 in the Music Room. Will will continue–and likely conclude–reading of Lanford Wilson's Talley & Son. As mentioned earlier, reinforcements (who just could become regulars) will be welcomed, to deal with the demands of Wilson's cast of thousands. Copies of the play are available.
An advance note: Drama Study expects to return to its customary second-Friday meeting schedule, with the November meeting.
Evening Lecture Series
Tom Eblen (teblen@sunflower.com, 865-3634) and Sue Nishikawa (nish@ku.edu, 842-6165)
Lynn Bretz, Director of University Communications will be our speaker at the potluck dinner, November 2. Please sign up.
Foreign Policy Study
Marilyn Bradt (mbradt@carrollsweb.com, 843-7751)
October 9—3:30 in the McGinnis Library. Danny Drury will lead the discussion on "Turkey: on Europe's verge?"
Gardening
Arno Knapper (knapper@ku.edu, 312-9422) and Dick Shiefelbusch (843-5869)
October 4, 11, 18, 25—9:00.
Great Books Study Group
Dave Hiebert (gundave@sunflower.com, 842-8706) and Art Lamb (artlamb@sunflower.com, 856-8450)
October 11—1:45. Great Books is beginning a series on "Love and Marriage." For the first of the series, Mary Boyden will lead a discussion of Soren Kierkegaard's Either/Or.
This is the best time for new members to join. The book costs only $18 for nine months' study.
Music
Arno Knapper (knapper@ku.edu, 312-9422)
October 4, 11, 18, 25—Immediately following coffee.
Opera Study
Jim Seaver (jseaver@ku.edu, 843-4081) and Al Sellen (jnalsellen@aol.com, 841-7432)
October 20—1:30, on the second floor. The second of our programs on French operatic masterpieces of the late nineteenth century will concern Saint-Saens's biblical opera Samson et Dalila. The composer Camille Saint-Saens first thought of this biblical work as an oratorio, and it is sometimes given this way in France and elsewhere. But Samson et Dalila was performed for the first time at Weimar, Germany, brought to the stage there by Saint-Saens's good friend Franz Liszt. Our excellent DVD of this opera will be shown with commentary on Friday 20 October at 1:30 P.M. The DVD comes from a presentation of the opera by the San Francisco Opera in 1981, which was given great praise by critics and the public. The famous tenor Placido Domingo offers an intense and heroic interpretation of the flawed Hebrew warrior, and mezzo-soprano Shirley Verrett sings and acts the part of the Philistine temptress extremely well. She is not only a beautiful Dalila but she also has just the sultry, powerful voice for the role. The critic in the San Francisco Examiner wrote of this performance: "Placido Domingo and Shirley Verrett ... incomparable in the title roles." The German baritone Wolfgang Brendel performs admirably under the direction of Julius Rudel, the famous conductor of the New York City Opera.
The three acts of the opera last for about two hours. Coffee and cookies will be served at the intermission following the first act.
Out of Town Travel
Ev Swartz (evswartz@ku.edu, 841-4065)
October 16—Trip to Tallgrass Prairie and Council Grove. The trip will include a bus tour of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (including ranch house and outbuildings) and Council Grove (with step-on guide). Lunch will be at the Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls.
Cost per person, including bus, lunch, and fees: $40.00. Make checks payable to Endacott Society. Checks are due by October 4. The trip is fully subscribed at the time of this printing.
Pre-Concert Dinner
Grant Goodman (plim@ku.edu, 841-1066)
October 6—5:00 in the Smith Center at Brandon Woods. The dinner will feature a Philippine meal to coincide with the performance that evening of the Bayanihan, the Philippine dance company. Reservations may be made by calling Grant Goodman.
Singing for Fun
Roberta Spires (rspires@ku.edu, 842-6820)
October 3—1:30 in the Paul Adam Lounge. Come join us in singing songs of years gone by. This is a new time slot (first-Tuesday), which may or may not be permanent. If the change is bad for you please try to come this time or contact Roberta and suggest what might be better.
Ten O'clock Scholars, AKA “Wednesday Coffee”
Genevieve McMahon (841-2116).
October 4, 11, 18, 25—10:00.
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FYI:
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Newsletter Copy
Copy for the November Newsletter should be in the hands of the editor no later than Sunday, October 15. E-mail Vic Wallace (wallace@ku.edu).