Jims of Wyzdom for September 21, 2018

What??? We have quite a few new members of our OLLI, and for you folks, I thought I should reveal my secret identity…in case you have wondered what crack-brain writes this column. So, here goes… I [Jim Held] started this column when I was first elected president of OLLI about 3 years ago and called it “The President’s Corner.” Once my two-year term was ended, quite a few people asked me to carry on with the column, so that’s why it now has this weird, punny title. You just never know what I might throw at you in these pages. Jae and I thought it might be easier on me to just do it every other week, so today is my “on” week…

Autumn Begins: Tomorrow is the first day of autumn, my very favorite season when the humidity goes away, the leaves fall, the Great Pumpkin appears on certain nights, children start lobbying for treats and planning their tricks, and yet another edition of the flick “Halloween” with Jamie Lee Curtis appears on screens [really, Maude? We all know this plot…].

Met in HD: Our Regal Hollywood cinema will once again be home to the Met in HD series, beginning October 6 with “Aida,” starring Anna Netrebko…about 1 PM. I’ll try to keep you up-to-date with dates and titles. Second on the schedule will be a new production of “Samson et Dalila” on October 20.

Today will also feature Michael Moore’s newest film documentary, “Fahrenheit 11/9,” showing at the Regal. Since WV has become this strange red state, I figured this film would never show up…I am delighted to be wrong. Think what you will about Michael, he is always worthy of asking really embarrassing questions of powerful people of all tribes. Let the games begin.

As the summer Film Forum ended last week, I asked those present to give me the titles of two films, a musical and another title from any genre. I’d like to extend that list to the rest of our members, so if you like, please email me your choices. I plan to do a musical series each summer and varied themes during the rest of the year. At some point, I’ll reveal the titles you recommended, and you will see some of them on one of our series. Email me at Jim.Held@mail.wvu.edu   The fall series begins on September 28 with “Yentl,” Barbra Streisand’s tour de force, as part of the “Crises of Conscience to Farcical Fantasy” theme at 12:45 in Classroom B.

See you in two weeks,

Just Jim