ENDACOTT SOCIETY — March 2008
Retired Faculty and Staff of The University of
Kansas — groups.ku.edu/~endacottsociety
–––––––––––––––
SCHEDULED EVENTS
All activities meet at the Adams Alumni
Center unless otherwise noted.
There are no activities during Spring Break
(March 17-21).
Afternoon Lecture Series
Maxine Patterson (843-7905), Mary Schweppe (schweppe@ku.edu, 842-1147), and Howard
O'Connor (843-1884). Stan and Janet Roth (sdroth@ku.edu,
jroth@ku.edu, 843-4764), and Bill
Hambleton (wwhamble@ku.edu, 843-2508)
are in charge of programs.
March 13—Program at 2:30,
sherry at 2:00, in the Summerfield Room. Following the celebration of
March birthdays, Kathy Mulinazzi. Director of Small World, will speak on
“Celebrating 40 years of Small
World”.
Small
World
is an organization for international women that meets at the First Presbyterian
Church on Tuesday and Thursday mornings of each week during the school year.
Cinema Studies
Grant Goodman (plim@ku.edu,
841-1066) and Fred Madaus (fmadaus@ku.edu,
841-4939)
March 11—Film at 2:00,
coffee at 1:45, in the Paul Adam Lounge. Cinema Studies will present the second
of three Alec Guiness films: The Lavender Hill Mob. A great film! Bring
your friends!
Computer Study
Jerry Niebaum (jniebaum@wizardofkansas.com,
842-3127)
All
meetings are at 9:00 in the Paul Adam Lounge.
March
5—Search
engines for beginners (Jerry Niebaum).
March
12—Applied
Computing (presenter to be announced).
March
19—No
session (Spring Break).
March
26—
Digital cameras for beginners (Jerry Niebaum).
Domestic Public Policy Study
Jim Drury (jdrury@ku.edu,
842-3308), John Poertner (jpoertner@sunflower.com,
749-2599) and Ev Swartz (evswartz@ku.edu,
841-4065)
March 3—3:30 in the All
American room. Detective Mike McAtee will discuss “Gang Activity in Lawrence:
Identification, Consequences, and Prevention.” Please join us for this
important topic.
Drama Study Group
Arnold Weiss (ahweiss@ku.edu,
842-5502)
March 28—1:30 in the music
room. We continue the reading of Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Please note meeting
date, two weeks later than Group's customary second Friday of the month.)
Foreign Policy Study
Marilyn Bradt (mbradt@carrollsweb.com, 843-7751)
March 10—3:30 in the
McGinnis Library. The discussion topic will be "Latin America: The Next
U.S. President's Agenda," led by John Poertner.
Gardening
Arno Knapper (knapper@ku.edu,
312-9422) and Dick Schiefelbusch (843-5869)
March 5, 12, 26—9:00 in the Music
Room.
Great Books Study Group
Dave Hiebert (gundave@sunflower.com, 842-8706) and Ellen
Gold (843-6933)
March 12—1:45. This month
we'll be reading selections from Michel de Montaigne: Of Friendship and Of Solitude. Discussion will be led
by Rusty Gates.
Metropolitan Opera Radio
Al Sellen (jnalsellen@aol.com,
841-7432)
The
radio broadcasts of the Met will be heard at the home of Vic and Mary Wallace,
1509 Massachusetts St. The Saturday broadcasts are received live over the
Internet and played in comfortable surroundings with fine audio equipment. Jim
Seaver brings expert knowledge and a usually ample supply of libretti. All are
welcome! (Parking is available in the church parking lot to the North.)
March 1—12:00 Othello, Verdi.
March
8—12:30.
Lucia
di Lammermoor,
Donizetti.
March
15—12:30.
Peter
Grimes,
Britten. (Also live in theaters.)
March
22—
No
meeting at Wallace home. (Group will attend Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in theatres in the
Kansas City area.)
March
31—12:30.
Ernani, Verdi.
Music
Arno Knapper (knapper@ku.edu,
312-9422)
March 5, 12, 26—Immediately
following coffee.
Opera Study
Jim Seaver (jseaver@ku.edu,
843-4081) and Al Sellen (jnalsellen@aol.com,
841-7432)
March 7—1:30, on the
second floor. The final opera in our series concerning Italian Verismo operas
will be Riccardo Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini. Zandonai, one of
Mascagni's pupils, was really only famous for this opera, which is often given
in Italy but not so often elsewhere. The double murder is historic.
It took place at Rimini in 1285. The best known telling of the story is
that by Dante, who described the guilty lovers as being blown about eternally
in his Inferno. Zandonai's
opera, which had its premiere in Turin in 1914, is based on Gabriele
d'Annunzio's drama, revised with a libretto by Tito Ricordi. The plot is
based on Paolo and Francesca's reading of the old story of Sir Lancelot and
Queen Guinevere in England.
In
the first act, Francesca of Ravenna is betrothed to the malformed and ugly
Gianciotto of Rimini, but she falls in love with Gianciotto's handsome brother
Paolo who comes to Ravenna to take her to be married at Rimini to Gianciotto.
In Act II, during a battle in which Paolo is wounded, Francesca nurses his
wounds and falls even more in love with him. This is perhaps the wildest
battle scene in opera, In Act III, Paolo and Francesca, while reading
Dante's love scene, become lovers. In the fourth and final act, Paolo and
Francesca are discovered by her husband in a love tryst, and Gianciotto kills
them both.
We
will see and hear the 1984 Metropolitan Opera revival production of the opera, with a great cast that
includes soprano Renata Scotto as Francesca, tenor Placido Domingo as Paolo il
bello, and baritone Cornell McNeill as Gianciotto, with James Levine
conducting. The opera lasts two and one-half hours. After Act II,
coffee, tea, and cookies will be served.
Out of Town Travel
Arnold Weiss (ahweiss@ku.edu,
842-5502)
April 18— National World
War I Museum in Kansas City.
We
will tour the museum and also the Hallmark Visitors Center in Kansas City. The
WW I museum comes highly recommended by members and others who have seen it on
their own.
Tables
for lunch at the Union Cafe have been reserved for the group. Entree choices
are Pepper Steak Wrap or Meat Lasagna, both entrees accompanied by salad,
dessert and beverage. (Those preferring to lunch on their own may do so at
their own expense.)
Cost
per person: $38, which covers admission to tours, lunch and round trip
transportation. A signup list will be available at Wednesday morning coffee.
(Guests may be accommodated--numbers limited, of course, by the capacity of the
bus.)
Further
information--on deadline dates for signup, payment, etc--will be announced at
Wednesday morning coffee, where any questions will also be addressed as
needed..
Singing for Fun
Roberta Spires (rspires@ku.edu,
842-6820)
March 6—2:00 in the Music
Room. Please join us for a fun-filled song fest down memory lane with
Winnie Gallup on the piano and Roberta Spires leading.
Ten O'clock Scholars, AKA “Wednesday
Coffee”
Genevieve McMahon (841-2116).
March 5, 12, 26—10:00.
––––––––––––––––––
NEWS EVENTS
Oral Histories
Sandra Weichert (wiechert@ku.edu, 842-5467)
The
Oral Histories since July, now bound and on the shelves, include those of
Norman Yetman, Greg Wade, Douglas McKay, James E. Strobl, Ken Stoner, Leslie
Dienes, Larry Maxey, Lelon Capps, and Joan Stone.
Those
being edited and otherwise "in process" include Charles Himmelberg,
Kenneth McKenzie, Ben Friesen, Don Whipple, Dennis Dailey, Charles Wyttenbach,
Ellen Gold, Diane Lazzarino, Jill Kleinberg, Andrea Norris, Victor Contoski,
Pam Houston, Ogden Lindsey, and Nancy Hughes. In addition, there are some old
ones we haven't given up on.
Jenni
Wedel is a new transcriptionist and she is currently transcribing Ann Weick's
oral history. Sharon Vaughn is starting on Carole Zebas' history. Unfortunately
both these tapes got shuffled to the back when there was a changeover of
transcribers.
––––––––––––––––––
Endacott Society Membership List
Copies of the Endacott Society membership list
may be obtained from Bryan Greve at the KU Alumni Association.
To subscribe to our list-serve, send an e-mail
to: listproc@ku.edu with message content:
"Subscribe retirees your-name".
Endacott Society Newsletter online? Check
groups.ku.edu/~endacottsociety.
––––––––––––––––––
Newsletter Copy
Copy
for the April Newsletter should be in
the hands of the editor no later than Sunday, March 16. E-mail Vic Wallace (wallace@ku.edu).