Archive for July, 2010

President’s July Message

Hi.  I’m Morgan Hua, the newly elected 2010-2011 NSC President.  I’ve been a member since 1989 and from 1998 I’ve served on the NSC board in various positions including 2001 President.  I’d like to thank Joel Hayashida for serving as President for the last two years.

Joel has made a number of changes and I plan on continuing his improvements.  Board meetings used to take five hours and I used to call them Bored Meetings.  Joel was able to cut down the board meetings to less than two hours.  This year, I’ve decided to eliminate the monthly board meetings and use electronic communication as a method for club business.  We have already passed the 2010-2011 budget, voted in Karen Soo as a Board Member, and approved Karen’s Oakland Pixar event.  (Actually, Karen Soo did get write-in votes, but the Board certified the election before she accepted the position, so the Board had to vote her in separately). Read the rest of this entry »

Nisei Ski Club Tours The Oakland Museum of California “PIXAR – 25 Years of Animation” Exhibition

Join Nisei Ski Club at this upcoming FREE event at the museum. The Oakland Museum of California presenting PIXAR: 25 Years of Animation, a major exhibition of over 500 works by the artists at Pixar Animation Studios, including drawings, paintings, and sculptures that illustrate the creative process and craftsmanship behind Pixar’s wildly successful computer-animated films. This will be a significantly enhanced presentation of the exhibition, which is returning home to Oakland after a successful worldwide tour that began at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2005. A number of significant works will be on public display for the first time, including art from Ratatouille, WALL•E, Up, and Pixar’s latest feature film, Toy Story 3. PIXAR will also include an updated, awe-inspiring version of the Pixar Artscape, a widescreen media installation. The exhibition will be accompanied by screenings of Pixar’s feature and short films; a special program of lectures, talks and workshops with Pixar artists; and a new and expanded exhibition catalogue. Read the rest of this entry »

NSC Elections

Thanks to Alice and all the election committee for twisting all those arms and convincing people that it really will be rewarding and fun to be on the board for next year. We look forward to another great NSC year with lots of well-run ski trips and other fun activities. See New List of New Officers. By the way, if you know about an interesting activity the club might enjoy and would like to introduce us to it, let Alice Horio know at vicepresident@niseiskiclub.org. If you can’t organize the event yourself, Alice may find someone on the board to lead it. I actually led my first SF stairs hike for the club before I joined and this has turned into one of the most enjoyable periods of my life.

INTRODUCTION to CURLING (as described in last month’s newsletter)

To date, only 4 people voiced interest in such an event, and while waiting for more, the available dates in June were all taken. I will continue to monitor the bayareacurling.com website for new dates and post them on our website. The latest times seem to be at Oakland Ice vs. Fremont.or San Jose Sharks Ice. Now that the Olympics are over, interest in this sport is dying down and there should be more available dates. Let me know at newsletter@niseiskiclub.org if interested. I believe we can run this event with a low number if we combine with another group.

Puzzles

Answers to last month’s puzzle: Remove FIVE LETTERS and what remains is a word you can find in any English dictionary. What’s the word? AFPIOVELLOEGTI(T)ERESS or APOLOGIES. My puzzle book left out a second “T” in the string (in parentheses)—Sorry.

For this month, remember those calendars with 2 cubes that are positioned adjacent each other so that the sides facing you show the day of the month: 1—31? Without looking at one, what are the digits on each of the 6 sides that are required to show 1 through 31?

What’s the name for this phobia?

Algophobia: Pain
alliumphobia: Garlic
allodoxaphobia: Opinions
amathophobia: Dust
amaxophobia:Riding in cars/vehicle
amychophobia: being scratched
anablephobia: looking up
anemophobia: air drafts or wind