OLLI OUTLOOK
OLLI @Berkeley's monthly newsletter
MARCH 2010
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OLLI @Berkeley Staff
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Director:
Susan Hoffman
Program Coordinator:
Aileen Kim
Program Assistants:
Marisa Cadena Belski
Satya Levine
OLLI @Berkeley
University of California
1925 Walnut St #1570
Berkeley, CA 94720-1570
tel. 510.642.9934
fax 510.642.2202
berkeley_olli@berkeley.edu
http://olli.berkeley.edu
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Register for SPRING 2010!
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SPRING 2010 Open House
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You're invited!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
9:30 a.m. to 12 noon
Program begins at 10 a.m.
Freight and Salvage
Coffee House
2020 Addison Street
View the invitation | Reserve a place |
Spring 2010 Brochures--Hot off the press!
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Our Spring 2010 brochures have arrived and we need your help getting them into as many hands as possible. If you are a current or past OLLI member, you will be receiving a personal copy in the mail. If you know someone who might enjoy OLLI's programming, or a location where you could drop off brochures, please let us know. And tell one friend, or more!
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OLLI Courses + Wellness = Taheima
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Spend a week enjoying OLLI courses in new surroundings at Taheima Wellness Resort and Spa near sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The spring and summer dates are May 8-15 and June 12-19.
To hear more, attend the information session on Friday, April 2, from 12:15-1:30 in Room 150 University Hall (2199 Addison Street).
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Online Energy Course
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After a successful first run of "The Energy Challenge," OLLI @Berkeley's online course with UC Berkeley professor Dan Kammen and The New York Times science writer Matt Wald will open its second session on March 26. As a part of the course, Professor Kammen conducts weekly online discussions of that week's topic and lecture.
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Faculty Profile: Jeff Callen
by Bonnie Mager |
A young man was born in the mountains of Northern Appalachia, in eastern New York State, surrounded by the music that filled his home and his community. A musical environment followed the family to Gloversville, in the Adirondacks. The boy grew up playing guitar and learning the tunes of rural eastern America.
This young man, Jeffrey Callen, knew early on that music was a central part of his life. After high school, he went to New York City to explore another world of music and began to learn blues and jazz.
After a few years in the Big Apple, Jeff went to the West Coast to start college, eventually getting a degree in social work from UC Berkeley. However he found that a career in his field was not satisfying. He continued to play music while exploring other opportunities. He and a friend started a business in paralegal research. He developed a journalistic career, writing articles about music, particularly jazz and world music, for the Beat Magazine in LA, East Bay Express, and for Afropop.org in New York.
Finally, his wife convinced him that he should pursue his real love more seriously. It was time to go back to graduate school: a Master's in Music from UC Santa Barbara, then a Ph.D in Ethnomusicology from UCLA in 2007. For his M.A degree, he did research on the West Coast Blues.
For his Ph.D research, Jeff lived in Morocco for a year. He enjoyed Algerian music--in fact, learned to play the oud, a large-bellied stringed instrument. But Algeria at that time was not a safe place for Americans, so he found a place in Casablanca. His Arabic was good, but that which was spoken in Morocco is very different, so he listened and learned the language and the music, and thus introduced to yet another world of music and culture. In an article for the East Bay Express (Feb 17, 2010), he discussed the folk-rock fusion of the Malian Toureg people of the Southern Sahara. His knowledge of and enthusiasm for this musical form is clearly evident in the article.
For his OLLI class, however, he will return to the subject of the research for his M.A.: the development of the West Coast Blues. Emergence of the blues from the days of Reconstruction and evolution of the music as it traveled from the South northward and westward will be examined. Different areas of the country produced different sounds. In West Texas, there was the influence of the cowboy music and swing. In Chicago, the guitar-based sound was harder, showing its Mississippi roots. When the blues came to the West Coast, the piano moved into the front line. As the blues moved up the coast, new blues scenes sprang up throughout California.
One of the most influential was in North Richmond where there grew a culturally rich mixture of blues and jazz in a predominately black community. The dinner clubs, blues joints, and churches provided the backbone of a diverse African American population, many from the Southwest who had come to work in the shipyards. From 1946 until 1970, this community flourished. The changes that led to the decline of the popularity of the blues will be part of the history presented in his class. He will include directed listening of these styles.
Jeff admits to owning a huge collection of music in all forms--from CD's to classic old phonograph records, which he believes are not dead yet. He keeps current with the music scene in the Bay Area and continues to write and teach in various venues. He is looking forward to teaching his first OLLI class. And when he needs to kick back and chill for a while, he listens to his favorites: John Coltrane, Miles Davis...and Bach.
Jeff Callen will be teaching "The Neglected History of the West Coast Blues" on Tuesdays, March 30-May 4, from 12:00-2:00 p.m at the David Brower Center.
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Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo
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Two lectures remain in this fascinating series on a local art movement with global impact. Don't miss the opportunity to hear from Annice Jacoby, author of "Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo."
April 6 and May 4
2:00-2:45 p.m. at Berkeley City College
(2050 Center Street, at Shattuck Avenue)
April 6-What's So Funny?
Mission artists are masterful comics. We will review the work of founding artists of Last Gasp, R.Crumb and Spain Rodriguez, and the brilliant satirical murals of Sirron Norris, Andrew Schoultz, Mats Stromberg, and Garth Williams.
May 4-Pranksters and Preachers
The Mission art movement is epicenter for the battle between art and advertising, the winter parking lot for Burning Man, the founding of the Battle of Seattle, Galeria de la Raza. From Billboard Liberation Front to Shepard Fairey. We will examine the vocabulary and antics of the SF Print Collective, Scott Williams and Michael Roman whose work asks: Who owns public space and public attention?
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Volunteer to be a Class Assistant
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Being a class assistant is a great way to meet your classmates and support the OLLI community. To volunteer for the Spring 2010 term, send an email to Mary Reinke at mhreinke@gmail.com with your name, telephone number, and which class(es) you are available to volunteer for. Questions? Call the OLLI office at 510.642.9934.
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OLLI Annual Fund
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The Annual Fund accounts for a significant portion of our budget and we count on those that are able to donate to step up so that OLLI can stay affordable. Our goal for 2009-10 is 100% participation to reach a goal of $75,000. We are over $43,000 so far. Click here to learn more or to make a donation.
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The Lunch Bunch
by Lucille Poskanzer
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Where can we go for lunch with a group? Here are two very different places, both close to where OLLI classes are held. They will welcome a group of 8 people without reservations and will provide separate checks if requested, but if you have 15 or 20, you need to call ahead. Mandarin Garden, 2025 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, between Addison Street and University Avenue., near University Hall. Telephone: 510.848.4849 or 510.848.4009. Closed on Mondays. The tables are well-spaced, the service is quick and the prices are really low. They offer generous portions of straightforward Chinese food, nothing high-end gourmet. It's fairly quiet, so great for discussions. Gather, 2200 Oxford Street, at Allston Way in the David Brower Center. Telephone: 510.809.0400. gatherrestaurant.com. Nice, open atmosphere, tables well spaced, and a menu of locally-sourced food, with many vegetarian and vegan choices. Service is friendly and accommodating. Some dishes can be smallish and/or a little pricey. |
Interest Circle Survey
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Look for the Interest Circle Survey for summer 2010 that will go out in April. OLLI @Berkeley will make its classrooms available during the summer for those who want to continue their study of topics from this year, or come up with something new and totally different and see who else is interested. The groups are member-driven, so let us hear what you want to do over summer vacation!
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OLLI @Berkeley Partner Announcements
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BERKELEY ARTS AND LETTERS SERIES -- Harry Kreisler
Harry Kreisler will be giving a talk as part of the Berkeley Arts and Letters Series.
Wednesday, March 24, 7:30 p.m.
Hillside Club
2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley
Admission: $12 in advance, $15 at the door
(OLLI @Berkeley members generally receive a 50% discount)
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MARIN THEATRE COMPANY 2010 TOUR
The Marin Theatre Company has offered
OLLI @Berkeley members last year's prices for its Oregon Shakespeare
Festival Tour. The tour schedule includes bus transportation, up-close
or behind the scenes private events, and tickets for five (5!) plays. Be
sure to mention that you heard about the tour from the OLLI @Berkeley
newsletter to receive the special rate. Space is limited. Marin Theatre Company 2010 Theatre Tour
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Friday, October 15 - Monday October 18
Download a flyer
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CITY COMMONS CLUB
City Commons Club presents an interesting speaker every Friday at lunch
time right here in Berkeley--not far from our OLLI courses. Speakers
cover a broad spectrum of topics that include science, art, music,
history, authors, medicine and health care, natural sciences, and
sociology. The Club was founded in 1910 so this is its Centennial Year!
www.citycommonsclub.org
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Cognitive Health News
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Check out this article by The New York Times Health and Medical Science editor, and author of a forthcoming book on cognitive health, Barbara Strauch.
Adult Learning | Neuroscience: How to Train the Aging Brain
by Barbara Strauch
To keep a middle-aged mind sharp, shake up what you already know.
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Give the Gift of Learning
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Share the joy of learning--give someone a gift certificate for an OLLI @Berkeley membership and course.
Contact the OLLI office at 510.642.9934.
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OLLI Wisdom
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Our maturity need not be a descent into isolation and silence. We are not alone, each on Crusoe's island. We live in a close archipelago of voices; we sing from one island to another. In our chorus of learning, the walking base, the deep notes that guide our harmonies, can bridge the distances, unite our community. We come to OLLI to learn, to learn in company with others. We contribute to the conversations of the community, make like-minded friends, argue in civil discourse, find new ways to learn together, build new structures of social relationship and individual growth. --Long-time OLLI member
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