Calendar – September 2021
by Sheila McCormick
September 2, Thursday, 12:30pm Zoom Meeting – Oakland Rotary Club – Civic Thursday Meeting
“Honorable Aisha Wahab – Future of Afghans in America”. Log in via their Facebook page.
September 7, Tuesday, 5:30pm *LIVE WEBINAR* – California Historical Society
Bohemian San Francisco
In the 1920s San Francisco hosted its own community of bohemians – not unlike that in Greenwich Village. Artists, writers, musicians, radicals, and free-thinkers of many stripes gathered in eateries such as the legendary Coppa’s and the artist colony at Monkey Block. Their goal: to create a new world of freedom, art and politics. Novelist Jasmin Darznik, author of The Bohemians, and historian Sherry L. Smith, author of Bohemians West: Free Love, Family and Radicals in Twentieth Century America, will bring to life these heady days of experimentation. They will also discuss their distinctive approaches to researching and writing about the era, considering the advantages and disadvantages of fiction versus nonfiction as a means of drawing a vivid picture of Bohemian San Francisco. Register here.
September 9, Thursday, 12:30 pm – Oakland Rotary Club Civic Thursday
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky – UC Berkeley School of Law – Log in via their Facebook page just prior to the event.
September 10, Friday, 7:00-8:00pm *LIVE EVENT via ZOOM* – Rotary Nature Center Friends
Lakeside Chat #10- Geology in and Around Lake Merritt
Andrew Alden of Oakland Geology will lead a virtual walk around Lake Merritt like no other! In Andrew’s words: “While everyone sees Lake Merritt as a window to the sea and a haven for birds, geologists also see it as a showcase of Ice Age features in the landscape beneath its trees, roads and buildings. Lake Merritt also appears to have a deep connection to the Hayward Fault, which I will explain by waving my arms in the time-honored manner of geologists everywhere.” Register here.
September 13, Monday, 7:00-8:00pm *LIVE EVENT via ZOOM* – Friends of Alameda Free Library
Judy Chicago: A Retrospective
Join us for a celebration of the life and work of Judy Chicago, a pioneering feminist artist. She rose to international prominence with her landmark installation The Dinner Party, first exhibited in San Francisco in 1979. This talk will explore her full body of work, from early forays into minimalism to current work that addresses mortality and environmental issues. Judy Chicago: A Retrospective is organized in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote in the United States. Register here.
September 14, Tuesday, 6:00-7:00pm *LIVE EVENT via ZOOM* – Contra Costa Library
The Changing Seasons – Birds of the East Bay Hills with Bob Lewis
The Bay Area is rich in varying habitats that are home to many bird species. As the seasons change, some birds arrive, others depart, and some just stay here at home. We’ll talk about many bird species that can be found in our gardens, with some discussion of things one can do to enrich these bird habitats. The talk includes many illustrations of our local birds. Bob Lewis trained as a chemist and worked in the energy industry for 33 years. He’s taught birding classes in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years and is the past chair of Golden Gate Audubon’s Adult Education Committee. His life bird list is over 5000 species, he loves to travel, and he’s an award-winning photographer. Register here.
September 15, Wednesday, 7:00 – 8:30 pm – Grand Lake Neighbors
Third Wednesday Zoom meeting.
September 16, Thursday, 12:30 pm – Oakland Rotary Civic Thursday Meeting
Cat Brooks – Log in via their Facebook page just prior to the event.
September 17, Friday, 1:00-2:00pm *LIVE EVENT via ZOOM* – UC-Berkeley Center for Race and Gender
The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics – a Conversation with Mae Ngai
How did Chinese migration to the goldfields of California, Australia and South Africa both upend the global economy and forge modern conceptions of race?
Join us for a conversation with historian Mae Ngai (Professor, Columbia University) about her remarkable new book, The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics, with discussants Harvey Dong and Chris Tomlins, and moderator Lok Siu. Register here.
September 30, Thursday, 12:00-1:00pm *LIVE EVENT via ZOOM* – SF Library/Museum of the African Diaspora
Conversations Across the Diaspora
A conversation between writer Sarah Ladipo Manyika and author, playwright, poet and political activist Wole Soyinka, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. Professor Soyinka is publishing his first work of fiction in nearly 50 years, Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth. Register here.
October 14 – 15 – Gardens of Lake Merritt
10th Anniversary Autumn Lights Festival
Sheila McCormick is an Adjunct Professor Emerita in Cal’s Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. Prior to her retirement in January 2016, she had a research lab at the USDA/ARS-UC-Berkeley Plant Gene Expression Center in Albany, studying the molecular biology of plant reproduction.
She is also helps with editing and is a frequent contributor to the Splash Pad News, beginning with a series of seven neighborhood walks – the first of which was posted in April 2017.
