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Writer and explorer Dan Buettner reveals the secrets to a long life at the S. Dillon Ripley Center on Tuesday.
Lectures in the District have caught the travel bug this week, exploring Wales, ancient Greece, and the top 500 of the world's most peaceful and spiritual places. Don't worry though, we've still got your regular selection of uplifting talks on the FBI, the economy, the failing Earth, illiteracy, and conflicts in Palestine to brighten up your week.
Tuesday:
>> Novelist Lisa See makes an appearance at Politics and Prose at 7 p.m. tonight to read from Shanghai Girls, which "tells the story of May and Pearl, well-educated, beautiful Chinese sisters who experience difficulties when their family tries to marry them off to Gold Mountain Men in America."
>> At 6:45 p.m., the S. Dillon Ripley Center explores Living Longer, Living Better with writer and explorer Dan Buettner, who will reveal geographical "blue zones," where "people have similar diets, activities, outlook, and stress-coping mechanisms that he and his research team have condensed into nine healthy habits." $25.
Wednesday:
>> The New America Foundation (NAF) presents some depressing news today from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at The Jobless Recovery: What the "Green Shoots" Optimists are Missing. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Leo Hindery, Jr., Chairman of the NAF's Smart Globalization Initiative will discuss their new report, which "finds that unemployment is more severe than reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics ... [and] warns that the U.S. economy is headed toward a 'jobless recovery' that could perpetuate the banking and housing crises." At least it's free.
>> Learn about local literacy issues from 6 to 8 p.m. with Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Colbert King and the Washington Literacy Council at the 14th Street Busboys. The event will cost you a $50 tax-deductible donation to the Council, who is "the largest provider of basic adult literacy services in the District," and hopes to reduce the amount of adult illiteracy in our city, which is estimated at a whopping 37%. Free glass of wine, snacks and soft drinks. RSVP to AScoffier [at] cityfirstbank.com.
>> Or, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., learn about book illustration from curator Helena Wright in Picturing Words: Book Illustration and Visual Culture in the Carmichael Auditorium of the American History Museum. Free.
>> Sixth and I hosts National Geographic Traveler editor Keith Bellows tonight at 7 p.m. for Sacred Places of a Lifetime. He'll bring the audience to "places that lift our spirits and open our eyes - landscapes, ruins, temples, shrines, festivals, retreats, and more," and sign his book Sacred Places of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Peaceful and Powerful Destinations after the talk.
Thursday:
>> Day one of the Natural History Museum's two-day symposium titled Convergence on Zero: Carbon, Climate, and Energy runs today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Part of the Folklife Festival's Wales program, the symposium "brings together leading environmental thinkers and doers to share their experience with the public ... [beginning with] an analysis of our global challenges ... [and moving] on to explore the options available to fix our broken systems and strengthen those that are still working." The event continues on Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free in the Baird Auditorium.
>> The Corcoran and the Greek Embassy pair up tonight for a 7 p.m. discussion at the Corcoran titled Knossos and the Prophets of Modernism with author Cathy Gere, who will examine the early twentieth century findings of British archaeologist Arthur Evans, who excavated the palace of Knossos in Crete to discover the ancient Minoan civilization. $15.
>> Another complement to this year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival, is a lecture titled Discovering Wales from 6:45 to 8:45 p.m. tonight at the S. Dillon Ripley Center. Travel writer Andrew Evans will give a show and tell on the "language, food, music, and often hardscrabble life" of the Welsh. $35.
Saturday:
>> Today's 2 p.m. Inside Media event at the Newseum features Bryan Burrough for a discussion titled Public Enemies vs. the FBI. Get a preview of Burrough's new book which "chronicles the infamous gangsters of [the 1930's] and the FBI agents who tracked them down," before the film adaptation, featuring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, hits screens in July.
Sunday:
>> Today's Inside Media event starts at 2:30 p.m. at the Newseum, and will star journalist Clarence Page, whose "column tackles the top issues in Washington, D.C., politics, foreign policy, the Obama presidency and changes in the nation’s racial landscape."
>> Then, head to the K Street Busboys at 6 p.m. for A Palestine Report Back. Hear stories from two recent peace delegations who "attempted to enter the closed Gaza strip through both Egypt and Israel, bringing with them equipment to build playgrounds and other toys for children -- items banned due to security threats." The Global Exchange's Fair Trade store will also be selling Palestinian crafts, olive oil and other items brought back from the trip.
Next Monday:
>> Join the Center for Inquiry tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. for a discussion with Dr. Jeff Schweitzer titled Moral Life in a Random World. $8.
>> After a weekend full of debauchery, you may want to join local journo and now author Ryan Grim at 6:30 p.m. at the 14th Street Busboys for a discussion of his book This Is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America.
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anyone else read that report put out by the NAF? yikes.