June 13

Bloomington

[Aaaah, two of my favorite subjects back in the day . . . ]

[In our morning classes, the Super took Natural Disasters: A New Look at the Collections of the Lilly Library – Christoph Irmscher, while I, in keeping with one of my listed favorites above, took The Fall and Rise of the Single Species Hypothesis for Human Evolution – Kevin Hunt, where the professor confirmed that we all have a tad of Neanderthal DNA in us.  Then we walked off campus for lunch . . . ]

[Stopping along the way to pay homage to Ernie Pyle . . . ]

[A famous WWII correspondent who was killed on Ie Shima, a small island I could see from the shores of Okinawa when I was stationed there.]

[The three Hoosier alums lead me into their favorite “watering” hole back in their days.]

[This photo of the Van Arsdale twins was in our booth.  I got to see them play, I believe more than once, in Williams Arena.]

[Just like the old days!]

[The girls split a stromboli – their Nick’s favorite from 50-something years ago.  They pronounced it still good!]

[And then just wandering about looking at the hundreds of IU memorabilia . . . ]

[Pssst, we won’t show this to Danny or Grandson Tom.]

[No comment . . . ]

[It’s quite a large place, with two floors.  Scott suggested  I take the tour.  He was there to flag us out.]

[Time to go back to school . . . ]

[If it looks hot, it was.  The powers that be noted Bloomington averages three 90-degree days in June (I was surprised it was that low), but our first three days there were all 90 degrees.]

[A fine example of Indiana limestone – if you want to learn more about that, I recommend seeing the movie Breaking Away.]

[In the afternoon, the Super and I started with Right-Wing Populism in Europe and the United States – Jeffrey Hart (who got his BA from Swarthmore in 1969, making him a classmate of my cousin Kathy), and then we both took 75-Minutes that Will Change Your Life: Exaggeration as Economic Policy – Morton Marcus.  Both were terrific and interesting classes.  And then this was the first day of also having an evening class.  So prior to that, Reetz took us to one of her favorites dining places in Bloomington (it used to be owned by former IU football coach, Gerry DiNardo).]

[Then back to campus for coffee and cookies before class . . . ]

[Then Ruthie’s & Reetz’s class was the movie: Hope and Glory, writer-director John Boorman, (they loved it), while I continued my all political day with The Supreme Court in the Trump Years: Expectations and Prognostications – Beth Cate (I loved it and would see her lecture anytime).  Leaving the campus at night, incoming frosh still making the rounds.]

[Lilly Library]

[Fine Arts Building]

[IU Auditorium]

June 14

The Super and Reetz started the day with What Really Happened in Syria and Iraq? – Carol Choksy, while I went to see this guy.  Gerhard Glomm, an immigrant from Germany who earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota, taught Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free: The Economics of Immigration and Refugees. We learned there are 60 million worldwide refugees, and that one-quarter of the world’s population would permanently relocate but the barriers are large.]

[The professor in appropriate student attire – tee shirt, shorts, and sandals.]

[In the afternoon, the Super and I both started with Agitate! Agitate! Agitate! Why Civic Engagement – and Civic Education – Is So Important Today – Paul Helmke, a 3-time mayor of Ft. Wayne and member of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.  Un-fun fact: 32 gun murders per day in the U.S.  He is also a strong proponent of running for public office.  Fun facts:  “Idiot” is a Greek word for not participating in government; there are 500,000+ elective offices in the U.S., and while girls run for student council at the same rate as boys, and 43-46% of school board members are women, the percentage of women in elected offices has plateaued since 1990 – he is strongly pushing for more women to run for public offices.  I later took Islam and the West: Friends or Foes – Asma Afsaruddin – not surprisingly, there is a great deal of disinformation, or fake news, about this issue.  The Super and Reetz enjoyed The Making of an Opera Season – Gwyn Richards.  That’s him on the right (stock photo) with wife Barbara from Edina.]

[The following are the Super’s class photos.  The first is Konrad Strauss, Professor of Music (Audio Engineering and Sound Production); Chair, Department of Audio Engineering and Sound Production) describing the Musical Arts Center (MAC) seats 1,460, features acoustical design and technical capabilities that are among the best in the United States and is regularly compared to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the main stage is 90 feet wide by 60 feet deep. The backstage area occupies more than half the building and provides a state-of-the art theater space for technical work. The MAC is also home to the School of Music Ballet Department.]

[Soprano Rachel Mikol, pursuing a Performer Diploma in Voice at IU performed the Mad Ophelie from Hamlet.]

The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance.  ~  Benjamin Franklin

Bonus coverage, in consideration of our political theme:  This is Professor Nick Hayes, St. Benedict/St. John’s, an expert on Russia who has taught at our senior college on more than one occasion (as I recall), on July 7, 2017:

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