La Bohème Encore– Puccini

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 6:30PM
Regal Ithaca Mall Stadium 14
40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca, NY

A magnificent cast comes together for Franco Zeffirelli’s iconic production of the Puccini favorite. The exciting young conductor Nicola Luisotti presides over a glorious vocal ensemble led by the mesmerizing Angela Gheorghiu, who sings Mimì at the Met for the first time in twelve years, opposite golden-toned tenor Ramón Vargas as her lover, Rodolfo.

Conductor Nicola Luisotti; Production Franco Zeffirelli; Angela Gheorghiu, Ainhoa Arteta, Ramón Vargas, Ludovic Tézier, Quinn Kelsey, Oren Gradus, Paul Plishka

Running time: 3 hours, 20 minutes. 2 intermissions
Cost: $22 adults; $15 children, $20 seniors

The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant from the Neubauer Family Foundation.

Let Me Tell You a Story – Memoir Writing Workshop with Irene Zahava

Monday, May 5^th 1PM at the Tompkins Public Library (FREE)

You’ve shared stories of your youth at Christmas dinners, bar mitzvahs and weddings for years, now learn to preserve them during “Let Me Tell You a Story: A Memoir Writing Workshop for Seniors” sponsored by the Tompkins County Public Library and Lifelong.

“Let Me Tell You a Story. . .” is being held in recognition of Older Americans Month. The workshop will take place Monday, May 5 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM in the Library’s Thaler/Howell Programming Room.

Under the leadership of Irene Zahava, participants will spend one hour writing about a core memory and another hour sharing their work with fellow participants in a safe and supportive environment.

Irene (Zee) Zahava is the director of Emma's Writing Center and has been leading writing circles since l994. She is a former bookstore owner, the editor of numerous short story anthologies and haiku journals, and the co-publisher of 2 Turtles Press. She is also affiliated with the Durland Alternatives Library at Cornell University, a project of the CRESP Center for Transformative Action.

This workshop is free and open to all seniors; however, advance registration is required. To register, contact Zahava at (607) 273-4675 or zee@twcny.rr.com. The class will be limited to 15 participants.

Rudiments of Oriental Rugs

This afternoon Connie Currier offered a presentation on oriental rugs and explained the differences between nomadic tribal rugs and city rugs.

Welcome Anie de la Rosa!

This spring Anie de la Rosa joined Lifelong as a volunteer for the Lifelong Learning program! This semester she is teaching a beginning Spanish Class. Anie relocated to upstate New York in 2004. Currently, she is employed by Cornell University as an Administrative Assistant for the State Programs Office. She is part of her church’s Board and participates in varied fundraising and social community activities.

Highlights of the April 15, 2008 meeting of the Tompkins County Legislature

County and Lifelong Investigating Joint Facility
The Legislature, by unanimous vote of those present, authorized the County to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding to proceed with investigation into possible joint facilities for Lifelong and the County Office for the Aging (COFA). The new facility under study would address mutual needs – the County’s need to relocate COFA’s offices from the ground floor of the County Courthouse to provide additional space for the state court system and Lifelong’s need to expand to meet increasing service demands. As a first step, Lifelong will conduct a feasibility study, to which the County will provide financial support proportional to the space it would occupy in a new facility, not to exceed $10,000. Further Legislature authorization would be required for County involvement to move beyond the feasibility stage. (From Marcia E. Lynch, Public Information Officer of Tompkins County)

Ithaca Hearing Loss News Group on Yahoo

The mission for Ithaca Hearing Loss News Group is to encourage interaction between hearing and those with hearing loss in Ithaca, NY and the surrounding areas. We have several ASL events including Ithaca ASL Chat Club. Events open to public. Any one can join this group to receive email reminders and updates. Check here to visit the Yahoo Group's Homepage.

Rudiments of Oriental Rugs (Free Presentation)

Date: Monday, April 21, 2008 3:30 – 5PM at Lifelong (119 W. Court Street, Ithaca, NY)
Speaker: Connie Currier

Learn about oriental rugs; who makes them, where they are made, and how they are made. Learn about the kinds of knots, the materials used for warp and pile, the differences between nomadic tribal rugs and city rugs. Touch a variety of reasonably priced rugs and look at pictures of wildly expensive rugs. See the wide variety of styles that fall under the title "oriental rugs"

Connie Currier bought her first rug in Mombasa in 1962. She went to an auction where the Afghan on display in this class said to her "Take me home" Like in all auctions, if one keeps bidding, one buys; she kept bidding and she bought. Since then she has bought, traded, sold, given away, and kept dozens and dozens of rugs.

This presentation is free and open to the public, to register call Lifelong at 607-273-1511.

TV Converter Box Coupon Program

Lifelong Educates Tompkins County
About the Benefits of the Digital TV Transition

Thursday, April 3, 2008. Ithaca, New York– Lifelong will be offering one-on-one assistance to educate community members about the digital TV transition set to take effect February 17, 2009. One-on-one assistance for community members to apply for a TV Converter Box Coupon on Tuesdays 9AM - 12PM and Fridays 1-3PM.

After February 17, 2009, all full-powered television stations will begin broadcasting only in digital. Digital television is a more efficient technology, which translates into benefits for television viewers and residents in Tompkins County including:

• Better picture and sound quality: Most viewers will see improved clarity and color when watching their favorite news, sports or entertainment programming.
• Additional channels/multicasting: TV stations will be able to provide several channels of programming at once. For example, if you normally watch channel two, it will still be available to you. But you may also get channel 2-1 that broadcasts local weather throughout the day or channel 2-2 that provides your favorite programs at a different time of day. These channels will be available at no additional cost.
• Additional services: Additional data services, such as enhanced closed-captioning, that are not possible in analog will now be available.

Improved emergency communications: With the change from analog to digital, portions of the analog TV airwaves (known as the “spectrum”), will be made available to local emergency responders such as local firefighters, police and 9-1-1 responders. This means improved emergency communications capacity and safer communities.

What Action is Required?
Many consumers won’t have to do a thing - households that subscribe to cable or satellite service for all their TV sets, or households with a new digital television, do not need to take any action. But if you rely on free, over-the-air broadcasts and don’t have a digital television, you will need to do one of the following:

• Purchase a digital converter box to attach to your existing television. (Retail price is expected to be $55-75, but government coupons worth $40 are available. The newly developed boxes sit on top of your television, changing the digital signal being broadcast to analog so your television can “read” it).
• Upgrade your television to a new digital model.
• Subscribe to cable or satellite service for all televisions in your house.

To assist U.S. households who choose to buy a converter box, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is implementing the TV Converter Box Coupon Program. All U.S. households are able to request up to two, $40 coupons to help pay for the cost of certified TV converter boxes. Consumers with an analog TV can purchase a converter box and connect it today to begin experiencing the benefits of a clearer picture and additional programming.

Applications will be accepted from January 1, 2008 until March 31, 2009. You can apply for your converter box coupons by:

Phone: 1-888-388-2009
TTY: 1-877-530-2634
Online: www.DTV2009.gov

Personal Assistance: Coupon Applications are available at Lifelong which can be mailed after filing out. We have volunteers available to help seniors and people with disabilities apply for their coupon online on Tuesdays 9AM - 12Noon & Fridays 1-3PM. Stop by 119 W. Court Street, Ithaca for one-on-one assistance with applying for a TV Converter Box Coupon.