Penny University Alive and Well at Town Hall

The "penny university" began in 18th century London coffeehouses where, for a penny, whether you were a clerk or a captain of industry, you tuned into the latest news, conducted business negotiations, or discussed Henry Fielding's latest piece of picaresque. The tradition continues today, although that penny has inflated to a couple o' bucks for just a decent cuppa joe. But, at Town Hall, you can often get your education for free or nearly so.

For example, for free, this Friday, May 12, Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi discusses her peace and justice work and her experiences as the first Muslim woman awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

For the cost of one of those frilly frappamachiaberlusconi coffee drinks, on Friday, May 19 , 7:30 PM, Columbia U. prof and PBS/BBC fave Simon Schama discusses the little-known story of a mass emancipation of slaves in the Americas during the War of Independence as told in his history Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution.

Get warped and wrapped up in string theory on Tuesday, May 30 , 7:30 PM. (We're coming up on an enormous space-time anomaly, Cap'n!) Harvard U. Professor of Theoretical Physics Lisa Randall explains it all for you as she discusses her findings in Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions.

Belated Poem-a-Day Tribute

Okay, so National Poetry Month, with its Poem-a-Day is so over, but I'm gonna post one anyway, as it is apropos for kicking off my repository of ramblings around Seattle.

You Reading This, Be Ready by William Stafford

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life--

What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?