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The Quill
Quick Updates for Independent Lifelong Learners
May 8, 2022
#399
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LLAIC's Annual Members' Meeting - Wednesday, 5/11
LLAIC Lit-Lovers - Friday, 5/13
No Geniuses on Wall Street - Monday, 5/16
Spanish Conversation Group (La Tertulia) - Monday, 5/16
Current Events - Wednesday, 5/18
LLAIC Zoom Happy Hour - Thursday, 5/19
Movie Mavens - Friday, 5/20
Let's Go: Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth - 5/26
Calling All Artists - Friday, 6/3
French Conversation Group
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LLAIC'S ANNUAL MEMBERS' MEETING
WEDNESDAY MAY 11, 2022 @ 1:30-2:00 P.M.
Please join us on May 11 for our short but important Annual Members' Meeting where you will hear a “State of LLAIC” report from our President, have an opportunity to ask questions about the organization, and finally cast your vote for the nominees for the Board of Directors.
The Nominating Committee has chosen four candidates to present to the general membership for election to the Board:
Jerry Jacobs (for a three-year term) (click here for bio)
Bill Miniscalco (for a three-year term) (click here for bio)
Alice Freedman (for a second three-year term)
Sandy Grasfield (for a second three-year term)
In addition, Phyllis Cohen and Barbara Mende were approved by the Board for one-year term extensions. These two positions, according to the By-Laws, do not require a vote of the membership.
The Nominating Committee is particularly grateful to our members who expressed interest in serving on the Board. Your desire to support this group speaks to the value and health of the organization.
Click here before noon on Tuesday, May 10, to request a Zoom invitation. You'll receive it by 3:00 p.m. that day.
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NEWS FROM THE LIT-LOVERS BOOK GROUP
Our last two meetings for the spring semester will be on May 13 and June 10. (See below for the content.) Then we will take a summer break. When we resume in September, we will be following a slightly different format. Individual members will sign up for one of the ten months of meetings, select the book the group will read and lead the discussion of it.
Since nearly every month there are more than ten people joining in the discussion, it shouldn’t be difficult to set up the calendar for the year in June or July, filling all the monthly slots and advising folks of what books we’ll be reading. If you’ve been coming to the Book Group, you know that we are a participatory, articulate group of people. We love books, we love to read, and we love to talk about the books we’ve read. You simply choose a month and a book!
Sandy Grasfield will be keeping the calendar, so please let her know what month you would like to be the leader. These are the dates for next September through June: September 9, October 14, November 11, December 9, January 13, February 10, March 10, April 14, May 12 and June 9. Sandy has a list of possible books if you’d like some help choosing a title. Click here for simple guidelines for our new format.
We hope that the LLAIC Lit Lovers will continue to be as active and enjoyable in this new and only slightly changed format. If you have any questions about anything, please contact Sandy at [email protected].
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THE PLOT
BY JEAN HANFF KORELITZ
FRIDAY, MAY 13 @ 10:30-12:00
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Sign up by sending your name and e-mail to Joan Chasan before registration closes at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 11, and you will receive a Zoom invitation by 3 p.m. Thursday, May 12. The meeting will open 15 minutes early so we can socialize before we begin the discussion. Contact Joan if you have trouble signing up. All book lovers are welcome.
Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written―let alone published―anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot.
The June 10 selection is Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker.
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THERE ARE NO GENIUSES ON WALL STREET
MONDAY, MAY 16 @ 10:30-12:00
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Are you an experienced investor, or are you new to "the market" and want to know more? We are an easygoing discussion group that deals with all market-related topics. Bring your opinions, insights, and questions. Or just listen.
Click here to request an invitation to the May 16 meeting. If you have any questions about the group, contact Richard Lewis: [email protected] or 617-448-4439.
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SPANISH CONVERSATION GROUP
¡Bienvenidos a La Tertulia!
MONDAY, MAY 16 @ 1:00-2:30
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The LLAIC Spanish Conversation group, La Tertulia, meets via Zoom every other Monday from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. We focus on print and short video articles from Spanish language media from around the world, choosing topics of general interest for every reading appetite. We take turns reading or viewing and then discuss the content, vocabulary, style, world view and other relevant themes.
Participants should feel comfortable reading, speaking, and understanding Spanish at an advanced intermediate level or higher. We address vocabulary and grammar issues as needed, but the focus is on conversation. No preparation is required. The hosts for the group are Miriam Grodberg and Larry Krakauer. Contact Miriam at [email protected] with any questions.
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CURRENT EVENTS
LED BY JERRY JACOBS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18 @ 10:00-11:15
After this week's news, it's hard to imagine that anything startling can come up before May 18 - but lately, just when we think that nothing more can startle us, it does. Whatever it is, the well-informed, opinionated people who join us will be able to figure out several ways to deal with it, under the skillful guidance of Jerry Jacobs. Our sessions are always lively, with an effort to hear from all points of view. Newcomers are especially welcome.
Click here by noon on Tuesday, May 17, to request an invitation to the May 6 meeting. You'll receive it by 3 p.m. that day. Newcomers are welcome. See you soon.
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LLAIC ZOOM HAPPY HOUR
THURSDAY, MAY 19
4:00-5:00
At our April 21 Happy Hour we talked about Monty Python, Seinfeld, Key & Peele, old-fashioned typing (with Wite-Out and mimeographs), reading maps, Fenway going cashless, Alexa, memorizing names and faces, changing popularity of names over generations, gender identity, and actors who became politicians.
We hope you'll all join us on Thursday, May 19, from 4 to 5 p.m. Bring your drinks, snacks, and conversation. New members are especially welcome.
Click here to request a Zoom invitation before noon on Wednesday, May 18. You'll receive it before 3 p.m. that day.
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MOVIE MAVENS
BLUE JAY
FRIDAY, MAY 20 @ 2:00-3:00
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The Movie Maven selection for May is Blue Jay, starring Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson as two former high school sweethearts who have been out of touch for more than 20 years and bump into each other at a grocery store back in their alpine hometown of Crestline, CA. Before they know it, they are spiraling back into the past in what becomes for the viewer “a thoughtful and heart-wrenching experience.”
“What is most incredible in this profoundly sensitive, mature drama is that there is no script and the wonderful dialogue is entirely improvised.” “Shot entirely in 7 days, it blows the heavyweights out of the water.” It is “one of the best indie films of 2016 and hardly anyone has seen it!” So we will be among the lucky few!
The film is available on Netflix. We will watch it on our own and gather to discuss it on Friday afternoon May 20th 2:00-3:00. Click here for a Zoom invitation by noon on Thursday, May 19, and you will receive the invite by 3:00 that afternoon.
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STRAWBERY BANKE MUSEUM
PORTSMOUTH, NH
THURSDAY, MAY 26 @ 10:30
LUNCH AT FRIENDLY TOAST
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Please join us on Thursday, May 26, for a tour of the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH (14 Hancock St). Strawbery Banke Museum is a vibrant nearly 10-acre campus dedicated to bringing 300+ years of American history to life through dozens of historic buildings on their original foundations, heirloom gardens, hands-on traditional crafts, and engaging costumed roleplayers sharing the experiences of those who lived and worked in the waterfront neighborhood of Puddle Dock.
We will meet at the Tyco Visitors Center next to the parking lot at 10:30. The staff will give us an orientation and site overview and we will then be free to stroll about the grounds on a self-guided tour. There are guides inside each building. We suggest allotting 1½ to 2 hours to tour the museum. There are several bathrooms with up to three step staircases along the way.
After the tour, at 1:30 PM, we will meet at Friendly Toast (113 Congress St) for lunch. It’s an 11-minute walk from the museum. We will order from the complete menu and receive individual checks. The restaurant has gotten good reviews on Yelp and from friends.
Parking is free at the Strawbery Banke Museum parking lot on 14 Hancock Street and If that parking lot is full, visitors are encouraged to try nearby offsite parking options including Portsmouth's two parking garages:
Please note that there is considerable walking and standing on this trip, but you will be walking at your own pace.
It takes about one hour and twenty minutes to get to the museum from the MetroWest area. We encourage you to carpool. On the registration form you will be able to check whether you would like to join a carpool or are able to provide one.
To reserve your place on the tour with or without lunch at 1:30, please print and complete the attached registration form, enclose a check for $12 per person and mail it to Margalit Lai, 16 Wheeler Rd, Westboro, MA 01581. NOTE: Your check must be received by Thursday, May 19.
Looking forward to a most enjoyable day outdoors following a two-year hibernation.
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CALLING ALL ARTISTS
A NEW AFFINITY GROUP
FRIDAY, JUNE 3 @ 11:30-1:00
Would you like to rekindle your interest in creative arts and share them with a group of like-minded LLAIC members? During the past two years of the pandemic, some of you may not have picked up a pencil or paintbrush and would love to get back to drawing, painting, or whatever you had been doing before COVID hit.
Margie Krakauer* has organized a monthly Zoom arts group to help you restart your previous interest or take your creativity into a new direction. Hopefully we can return to meeting at Shir Tikva at some point; but, for now, Zoom it is.
This could be an opportunity to share what you’ve been working on through screen sharing. As a group we can offer constructive critiques and suggestions to one another. We can share our knowledge and expertise in a workshop-style gathering, enjoying each other’s company as well as our passion for art.
If you have interest in joining our group, please come to our next meeting on May 6th at 11:30-1:00. Click here to request a Zoom invitation before noon on Thursday, May 5. You'll receive it by 3 p.m. that day.
*Margie studied art for over 30 years with Wayland artist George Dergalis. She learned something about most media, as well as the fundamentals of color and design. She has taught classes in drawing and painting and will feel comfortable helping you with color, value, and mood in whatever medium you choose to use.
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FRENCH CONVERSATION GROUP | |
The French Conversation Group is finishing Un Aller Simple by Didier Van Cauwelaert, and will start reading Le Chateau de ma Mere by Marcel Pagnol in May.
We are a group of intermediate to advanced level speakers. We read books aloud, taking turns, and stopping often to discuss any interesting aspects of what we are reading. If you are interested in this group, please contact Richard Mansfield at [email protected].
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Call us: (508) 453-1205
Editor: Barbara Mende
Contributing Editor: Shelly Levine
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