Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

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OLLI E-News was created by Rod Zumbro, who served as its editor from 2005 to 2013.

Editorial Staff Chief Editor/Technical Editor: Irene Osterman Associate Editor: Weekly Editorial Team: Pat Bangs, John Nash, Paul Van Hemel, Sheri Siesseger, Leslie Vandivere

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OLLI E-News July 10, 2015
Print a condensed .pdf copy of this newsletter, two web pages per sheet of paper.
Photo by Paul and Susan Van Hemel
 
The Spirit of Independence Live at OLLI, July 4, 2015

July 10, 2015


Editor of the Week: Sheri Siesseger
Table of Contents

Alerts & Notices


Missing something? Please check the Lost & Found box in the Tallwood social room before July 23. All unclaimed items will be donated at the end of the month.

Reminder of between-term event: A Jolly OLLIday with Mary, a showing of the film Mary Poppins, (1005BT) takes place Tue, July 28 at Tallwood. Register now at the member portal. Grandkids are welcome, but space is limited! 

Find out what it takes to be a class liaison! Space remains available for special event 959, Liaison Training for Everyone, Thu, July 23 from 11:50 –1:15 in TA-2. Register at the member portal.

The Language/Literature/Theater Planning Group will meet Mon, July 13 from 10:30 - 12:00 in the cottage at Tallwood. All interested OLLI members are invited to attend.

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Attention: OLLI Teachers!! 

DON'T DELAY  -  DO IT NOW !! 

Are you interested in teaching a course during the winter (maximum four weeks) or spring (maximum eight weeks) 2016 terms? Are you able to organize a course and arrange for an instructor?
 
From NOW to Aug. 21 is a perfect time to submit your course proposal.   
The form is available on the Olli.gmu.edu website under Main Menu / Our Program / Instructor Resources.

If you wish to discuss your ideas with a program planner, names are listed on page iv of every course catalog. 

Program planning committees are meeting soon. Be sure your ideas are included. 

For the Program Committee, 
Kathryn Russell, Russell Stone, co-chairs
It’s Time to Fall for the Book!
 

By Alice Slayton Clark, Communications Associate/Registrar


Ready your reading glasses, Fall for the Book is just around the corner! This exciting event runs September 27-October 3, bringing more than 150 authors to Northern Virginia. And OLLI-Mason is in the thick of it, hosting five author events.
 
Since 1999, George Mason and the City of Fairfax have celebrated literature with Fall for the Book, a festival that brings together readers and authors at all levels with book discussions, storytelling, writing workshops, and readings galore. The goal is to encourage reading, writing and creativity by every age, ethnic and social group.  
 
This year, Fall for the Book will honor bestselling novelist Diana Gabaldon with the Mason Award for “extraordinary contribution to connecting literature to the wide reading public.” Gabaldon is renowned for her historical science fiction Outlander series, covering the Scottish clan wars of the 18th century. Fall for the Book will also award Tim O’Brien the Fairfax Prize, for his 1990 book The Things They Carried, a series of interrelated fictional stories about the Vietnam War.
 
OLLI is proud to host at Tallwood a conversation with Tim O’Brien as well as four other Fall for the Book authors:
  • T.J. Turner, Lincoln’s Bodyguard
  • Robert Poole, Section 60
  • Terry Alford, Fortune’s Fool
  • Ernest Gaines, A Lesson Before Dying  
Get an early start by putting these books on your summer reading list. Then sign up for the OLLI Fall for the Book events as part of your fall term registration via the member portal.
 
For more information about Fall for the Book, including a full list of participating authors, go to the following website: http://fallforthebook.org. All events are free and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
Look! It’s Liberace in Loudoun!


By Martha Powers, OLLI E-News Staff Writer
 


If you missed him at Tallwood and Reston, there’s still hope! “A Tribute to Liberace, Mr. Showmanship,” will be offered at the club house auditorium at Lansdowne Woods (formerly Leisure World) in Leesburg on Wednesday, August 19, from 1:00-2:30. Come and learn about the childhood and career of this unique American phenomenon, and view photos of his amazing costumes, cars, and pianos displayed at the now defunct Liberace Museum. You’ll get to watch plenty of clips from his wildly popular TV show and, as an added bonus, a life-sized cardboard Liberace will be available for photo opps. (Impress the grandkids!)
 
Sign up online for event 1006BT under Loudoun Lectures, Spotlighted Added Events, or Spotlighted Between Term Events.
OLLI Book Club to Meet Mon, July 13


By Ceda McGrew, OLLI Book Club Coordinator



The OLLI Book Club will meet on Monday, July 13 at 10:00 at Tallwood. The book for discussion is The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. It is the inspiring story of nine lower -middle-class boys from the American west on the University of Washington crew team who, against all odds, transformed a sport when they won the gold medal.
 
All OLLI members are welcome.
 
The Book Club will not meet in August. The book for September is A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines.

Computer Club to Meet Sat, July 18 

Saturday, July 18 – TV Buying Tips
Learn 30: Creating and Using PDF Files

By Paul Howard, Computer Club Coordinator

The Computer Club (OLLI Personal Computer User Group, or OPCUG) will meet with its partner, the Potomac Area Technology and Computer Society (PATACS), Saturday, July 18 at Tallwood. Join us at 12:30 for soft drinks and socializing in the social room. Presentations will begin at 1:00.
 
Switching from PC to Mac:  This presentation by Scotty Scott, Fairfax County government, will provide an explanation of the features of digital TVs, including clarity of the pictures displayed and advantages of the newest digital sets. Learn about TV sizes and prices. Find out about “Smart TVs” with access to the Internet. Information provided will steer consumers clear of digital TVs being sold with not-so-modern or less-desirable features. Discussion will include antenna (free) and cable (subscription) options for receiving broadcast signals. The presentation includes significant opportunities to ask questions. Information is current and will help attendees wade through the complicated maze of TV features and offerings.
 
RW (Scotty) Scott is a lawyer whose previous career involved running a number of national non-profit organizations. He retired in 2008, and then took on a second stint with Fairfax County as a senior communications analyst. He serves with the Communications Policy & Regulation Division, Department of Cable and Consumer Services.
 
Learn 30:  Documents using the PDF format have many advantages for computer users. We'll discuss and demonstrate how easy they are to create, and show some tools that can be used to make them even more useful.
 
See full details on this meeting by clicking here.  For information on the Computer Club, see the OPCUG website. OPCUG dues of $5 for 2015 will be collected at this meeting.
 
Can't make the meeting in person? Dues paid club members may attend via Zoom's cloud meeting service, beginning at 12:45. Send a message to [email protected] if you plan to attend in this way. Join from PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/132539907  

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Interested in Technology? Learn with Us!  Wed, July 15
 

By Paul Howard, Audiovisual Support Committee Chair



OLLI's Audiovisual Support Committee (a.k.a. the Tom Swift Squad) seeks additional volunteers to help ensure the smooth employment of OLLI's audiovisual resources. Our primary mission is to help instructors, liaisons and staff with any audiovisual issues that might arise during the classes we attend. Our team is learning to use the LifeSize videoconferencing systems that offer the ability to share classes and meetings between OLLI locations.

We'll be meeting at 1:45 on Wednesday, July 15 in TA-1. We'll offer hands-on training on our classroom audiovisual equipment, discuss future activities, and improvements to our equipment and operational methods.

Please let me know if you're planning to attend, or would like to become a "Swiftie" even if you can't come to this meeting. Contact me by email:  [email protected] (preferred) or phone (703-860-9246).

For more information on the Audiovisual Support Committee, see its web page: 
http://www.olligmu.org/~finforum/private/olliav/avsupportcomm.html

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Ask Uncle Olli



By Uncle Olli, Driver Safety Consultant 



Uncle Olli has lived in Northern Virginia most of his lifetime, and has encountered most every every traffic situation that might raise a question, however trivial it might seem. Ask Uncle Olli at [email protected]. He is embarrassed by nothing!

WHAT SHOULD DRIVERS BE ALERT TO IN THEIR DRIVING? WHAT CHANGES SHOULD OLDER DRIVERS CONSIDER MAKING IN THEIR DRIVING ROUTES?
 
Remember those cautions about ‘Do not operate heavy machinery’ after taking some medications? Cars weigh 3,000-4,000 lbs, and qualify as heavy machinery. Might I suggest refresher courses for older drivers, as offered by law enforcement, AAA, and AARP? These are especially recommended if you or your passengers have white knuckles when you arrive at your destination.
Poet's Corner
Courtesy of the Poetry Workshop
 
                                                  ROOTS
 
These are my mother’s lilies
 burst into glorious bloom,
 golden wings in motion with the wind.
 Carried carefully from the place
 I first took root,
 planted here with hopeful hands…
       “I brought you a start of lemon lilies.”
       “Yes,” I said.
 
Confident, creating my own life,
believing, balancing, bearing children…
I was the originator, executor of new dreams.
I craved no continuity,
no rooted things…
no fingers reaching from the past.
 
Parent-gardener, unaware,
I sowed strong seeds,
transplanted roots that ran through generations.
Now, like the lilies bursting forth,
my children stand in strong,
triumphant bloom.
 
Through the years a plenitude of newer plants
have proved ephemeral.
Parents gone, children scattered,
I am the carrier of continuity.
Alone and wiser now, cast up upon a quieter time,
I dig and carry lemon lilies.
       “These are your grandmother’s lilies.”
       “Yes.” they say.
                    
                                                  Helen Harvey   
Arts & Music at George Mason

Performances, next ten days

By Shelly Gersten, OLLI E-News Staff Writer

For tickets for either Center for the Arts (CFA) or Hylton, call 1-888-945-2468, buy tickets online through the event calendar (see links below), or visit the venue's box office. For more information see the CFA ticket page or the Hylton ticket purchase page.
At the Hylton Center

Prince William Little Theatre: The Who's Tommy
Fri, July 10 and Sat, July 11, 8:00
Sun, July 12, 2:00
Fri, July 17 and Sat, July 18, 8:00
Sun, July 19, 2:00
Fri, July 24 and Sat, July 25, 8:00
Sun, July 26, 2:00
Gregory Family Theater
Admission: Adult, $25; senior, $20.

Rehnuma Ki Beti (The Pioneer's Daughter)
Continuing through Aug 16
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery
Asma Chaudhary presents her recent explorations in mixed media and sculpture pertaining to South Asian culture, traditions, and handicrafts.
Buchanan Partners Art Gallery is open to the public Tue-Sat, 10:00 - 6:00, Thu, 10:00 - 8:00 and two hours before performances.
Admission: Free.

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For further details on any of the above events, please see the CFA event calendar and the Hylton Center event calendar

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Meetings & Clubs


The following list covering the next two weeks is extracted for your convenience from the master online calendar maintained by the office, with direct web links added when available. The list is accurate as of mid-week but to check anytime for the latest information, please view the latest forecast of upcoming events on our website (News/OLLI Calendar). Note: All OLLI members are welcome at, and encouraged to attend, meetings of the Board of Directors, committees and resource groups, kickoff coffees, etc. (bolded below).
Sat Jul 11 10:30am Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Mon  Jul 13 10:00am
10:00am
10:00am
10:30am


 1:00pm
 		 What’s in the Daily News–TA-3
Bridge Club–TA-3
Book Club–TA-2
Language, Literature and Theater Program Planning
Group–Cottage
Reston Program Planning Group–Home of Stan Schretter
Tue Jul 14 10:00am Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon
Wed Jul 15  1:45pm A/V Committee–TA-1
Fri Jul 17  9:00am
10:00am
10:00am		 Recorder Consort–TA-3
Craft and Conversation–Cottage
Board of Directors Meeting–TA-1
Sat Jul 18 10:30am
 1:00pm		 Tai Chi Club–TA-3
Personal Computer User Group–TA-1
Mon Jul 20 10:00am
10:00am
10:00am		 Bridge Club–TA-3
Mah Jongg Club–TA-2
What’s in the Daily News–TA-1
Tue Jul 22 10:00am Knitting and Needlework Club–Panera, Herndon
Fri Jul 24  9:00am
10:00am
12:00pm		 Recorder Consort–TA-3
Craft and Conversation–Cottage
Photography Club (F)

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OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE
AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

4210 Roberts Rd. Fairfax, VA 22032-1028
Phone: (703) 503-3384
Email: [email protected]

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