Classes Feature Baguettes, Photography and Gemology
Patricia Ingalls
LifeLong Learning’s December and early January classes show how to bake baguettes, how to understand photography concepts, and how to recognize and appreciate precious gems.
Each class costs $20 and requires registration online at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org. Here’s a summary:
Baguettes, Dec. 14, 1 p.m.
Learn how to duplicate the taste and texture of crisp-crusted, long baguette loaves at home, despite having no steam oven in your kitchen.
PebbleCreek’s skilled baker, Gene Fioretti, has researched and perfected a recipe, and he will provide each of his students a copy to refer to and the opportunity to take notes during class. He will demonstrate all the important phases of making and baking baguettes.
This class will be presented via Zoom and is limited to 50 participants. Registered attendees will receive a Zoom invitation a few days prior to the event.
Beginning Photography; Jan. 11, 18, and 25; 1 to 3 p.m.
This three-session class will cover the many concepts that a beginning photographer needs to know. Each session builds on the previous one, so no one may take the second or third session without having attended the first.
Session 1: Basic understanding of aperture, shutter, ISO, exposure, manual exposure, and histograms
Session 2: Aperture/shutter/manual priority, focusing modes, lenses, depth of field, and RAW
Session 3: Composition, filters—when, how, and why to use them
The instructor, Adriana Greisman, is a PebbleCreek resident and president of the PebbleCreek Camera Club. She is an award-winning nature photographer, honored in local and national competitions.
Gemology, Jan. 12, 1 to 3 p.m.
Take a virtual tour around the world of gemstones, including diamonds and birthstones, exploring their formation, mining history, major cutting centers, and how to care for them. In addition to receiving informative handouts, attendees will be able to see, touch, and feel actual specimens.
Gemologist Linda Kesselman’s passion is gemstones. A graduate of the Gemology Institute of America, she taught in Los Angeles for more than 20 years and has taught gemology in schools, where she integrated geology into the curriculum.
LLL Contact Information
* Website: www.lifelonglearningatpc.org
* Email: [email protected]
* LLL Center hours: Closed until further notice
Navajo Code Talker to Lecture
Patricia Ingalls
Peter MacDonald, one of the last surviving Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, will present the next Premier Lecture on Friday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. in the Renaissance Theater.
During wartime in the Pacific, Code Talkers used a unique Navajo code to transmit secret messages. The Navajo Code, the only military code in modern history that was never broken by an enemy, and the Code Talkers saved hundreds of thousands of lives and helped to shorten the war in the Pacific.
MacDonald will explain how the Navajo Code was developed and used during the war and discuss the current state of the Navajo Code Talkers. MacDonald, president of the Navajo Code Talker Association and former leader of the Navajo Nation, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at age 15. Honorably discharged with a rank of corporal, MacDonald graduated from the University of Oklahoma with an electrical engineering degree. He has received numerous honors, including the Congressional Silver Medal for heroic service to the nation as a USMC Navajo Code Talker, election to the University of Oklahoma Engineering Hall of Fame, and Special Commendation by President Richard M. Nixon for “exceptional services to others.”
Tickets to all Premier Lectures cost $15 per person and can be purchased online at www.lifelonglearningatpc.org. Tickets also may be purchased in the theater lobby, using cash only, beginning an hour before the lecture, subject to availability.
Leadership Requires Collaboration
Bill Nee
Many of us participate in numerous organizations. Each group has one or several individuals trying to influence and guide members toward achieving the organization’s goals and objectives. Hopefully, those leaders are inspiring a vision of the future, but is everyone aligned and empowered?
In this TED Talk, A Guide to Collaborative Leadership, Lorna Davis, a business executive and consultant, points out why collaboration is important, and she contrasts the difference between heroes and leaders. She explains how our idolization of heroes can hold us back from solving big problems and shows why we need “radical interdependence” to make real change happen.
She points out why sharing common goals is important before plans are developed. It is important for leaders to be open and transparent and to involve and stretch team members to achieve maximum organizational results.
To pick up a few tips on good leadership and view this 14-minute talk, go to TED.com. Click “watch” in the header, then “TED Talks.” In “Search talks,” input: “A guide to collaborative leadership,” scroll a little lower, and click on the talk you selected.
Trips Resume Using New COVID-19 Policy
Sue Roth
When LifeLong Learning resumes offering trips in January, new COVID measures are planned to help keep participants and volunteers safe. While the COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant challenge in Arizona, most health experts support vaccinations as the most powerful tool to ensure safety for all.
A new addition to LifeLong Learning’s trip policy, approved by the PebbleCreek Homeowners Association, now requires everyone on a LLL trip to show proof of vaccination and a photo ID. Proof can be: a.) the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card that everyone receives when vaccinated, b.) a photocopy of the CDC card, c.) a photograph of the card on an electronic device, or d.) a World Health Organization Card. The photo ID can be a driver’s license, passport, or other photo ID. It must be presented at the same time as the proof of vaccination. In addition, masks must be worn on the bus and, if the venue requires masks, worn while at the venue.
Final registration is contingent upon participants providing the required proof of vaccination within five days of registering for a trip. Participants may email copies of their proof to Trip Director Sue Roth at [email protected]. Any questions, including inquiries about making other arrangements, may be directed to Roth by email or phone at 612-940-4798. Failure to comply with this new policy will result in cancellation of the registration and a refund.
Details of upcoming trips will be posted, as they are confirmed, on www.lifelonglearningatpc.org.