The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded in January of 1927. The first Academy Awards ceremony took place in May of 1929 with two hundred people attending a banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Unlike the globally televised event today, the first Academy President Douglas Fairbanks made quick work of handing out the statuettes. There was little suspense since the recipients had been announced three months earlier. It was the following year that it was decided to keep the results secret until the ceremony but give the list to newspapers for publication at 11PM. In 1940 the Los Angeles Times published the names of the winners earlier so starting in 1941 the Academy adopted the sealed envelope system.

Who will “the Oscar go to” this year?

Marc Chagall 1921

Marlene Aaron will lecture on Wednesday about the lives and works of three Jewish-French  artists of the 20th Century who lived a worked in France during the same time as Picasso, Matisse, Monet and Gauguin.

Amedeo Modigilani was an Italian painter and sculptor who is best known for works characterized by mask-life faces and elongation of form. Plagued by illness and substance abuse he died at the age of 35 much younger than Chagall and Delauney who lived and produced work into their 90s.

Marc Chagall was born in Russia (Birth Name: Moishe Shagal). He created works in a multitude of medium, painting, illustration, stain glass ( including windows for the UN), set design, ceramics, tapestries and fine art prints. Two books, My Life by Marc Chagall and Burning Lights by his wife and muse Bella Chagall both with illustrations by the artist highlight their early years in Russia.

Sonia Delaunay ( Birth Name: Sarah Ilinitchna  Stern) was also born in Russia. She and her husband Robert Delaunay,  co-founded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colors and geometric shapes. Her works included painting, textile design,  stage sets, and even a car, a Matra 530 which she painted. She was the first living female artist to have a retrospective exhibition at the Louvre.

In 1955 Virginia and Basil Cherniak and other members of a community choir needed to raise funds for material to make new choir robes.  They decided to stage a play and contacted Josephine Camp, a theater teacher and director.

They named themselves The Masquers and charged 75 cents per ticket using the stage at the Hillside Community Church in El Cerrito. They were so successful they not only raised money for new choir robes they also raised money for a school serving children with developmental disabilities.

With Josephine “Jo” Camp as director and Dorth Hadley as stage manager they became a full-fleged amateur theater. In the fall of 1959 they secured a long term lease at 105 Park Place in Point Richmond and by the summer of 1961 with a redecorated theater it officially became Masquers Playhouse, joining a tradition of community playhouses all over the country.

You might think that is was fairly easy to define and identify tai chi exercises. But its not – tai chi is mainly comprised of collections of movements or postures called a form – and there are hundreds of forms. Some are very popular like the Beijing 24 and practised by millions others are rarer like the traditional 108 forms. Tai Chi is a centuries-old Chinese practice designed to exercise the mind and body through a series of gentle, flowing postures that create a kind of synchronized dance.

Deeply rooted in Chinese meditation, medicine, and martial arts, tai chi (pronounced ”tie chee”) combines mental concentration with slow, controlled movements to focus the mind, challenge the body, and improve the flow of what the Chinese call ”qi” (also spelled ”chi”) — the life energy thought to sustain health and quiet the mind.

Found in many community centers, health clubs, and studios in the United States, tai chi is lauded for its gentleness and accessibility.

In fact, almost anyone can do it, even those with conditions that may exclude them from other forms of exercise, says Bill Douglas, tai chi teacher and founder of World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. Seniors, the overweight, and the arthritic can all participate.

The list of benefits that regular practice of Tai Chi can bring is long, according to advocates. It can improve strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination. Some research also suggests that tai chi may help to improve heart function and decrease blood pressure.

With Valentines Day coming  tomorrow we thought if would be a good time to talk about some information regarding your heart.  The Mayo Clinic offers five medication free strategies to help prevent heart disease. First don’t smoke or use tobacco products, second exercise for thirty minutes most days of the week, third limit unhealthy fats and cholesterol, fourth choose low-fat proteins and fifth eat whole grains.

Stress can also have ill effects on your heart. In addition to exercise, other ways to reduce stress are mindful deep breathing, smiling and thinking positively, petting a cat or dog, taking a warm shower, eating foods that are high in nutrients that are lost due to stress such as foods high in vitamins C, and B as well as Beta Carotene Lycopene, and Calcium.Choose foods from a wide variety of colors.

Today, as adults the children who received the council and wisdom of their parents are facing a reverse situation in their lives. They are finding themselves concerned about their aging parents and what their needs will be as their health and mental abilities fail them. In some cases the children must take the role as parent in securing the safety and well being of an elderly family member.

Julie lives 600 miles from her mother. Knowing her mothers health is frail and she lives alone, Julie calls her every evening after work. The conversation always goes like this;

“How are you doing today Mom, Julie asks?
“Everything’s fine”, Mother replies.
“Are you taking your pills?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.”
“Do you need anything?”
“Everything’s fine.”

Julie does not get much more conversation from her mother. Perhaps everything is fine, or perhaps Julie’s mother just wants Julie to think she can take care of herself. Even worse, mother could think all is fine and be forgetting her medication and not eating properly.

Is Julie really listening? ARE YOU LISTENING?

It may be time to put your face in front of your parent and listen.

Assuming that all is well and that your elderly family member knows and does what is best for them, may be putting them at risk.

Become a partner with them in their care. The best time to form the partnership is before a crisis happens.

Donna Schempp, a licensed clinical social worker and program director at the Family Caregiver Alliance, states that in talking to your parents, “The sooner, the better.” If you bring up the subject before your parents need any extra support, “then it’s not crisis driven,” she explains. “It’s not a way of saying, ‘Mom, Dad, there’s something wrong with you.”

A good way to begin is to sit with your parents and ask questions like, what are your concerns for the future. Do you want to remain in your home? Are you worried about losing your independence? Listen to their answers. You might relate your concerns as well, or you desire to be of help.

In become a partner in planning for care and helping your loved one, you need to know what legal and financial arrangements are in place. By asking, “What if you had a stroke, Mom, I would need to know where your medical and insurance documents are and what you would have me do in your behalf.”

The next step might be to accompany them to their doctor appointment so to understand what their medical needs are and help create a plan for future needs.

The National Care Planning Council’s book gives the following list of most common services family care givers will provide for their parents.

• Walking, lifting, and bathing
• Using the bathroom and with incontinence
• Providing pain management
• Preventing unsafe behavior and preventing wandering
• Providing comfort and assurance or arranging for professional counseling
• Feeding
• Answering the phone
• Making arrangements for therapy, meeting medical needs, and doctors’ appointments
• Providing meals
• Maintaining the household
• Shopping and running errands
• Providing transportation
• Administering medications
• Managing money and paying bills
• Doing the laundry
• Attending to personal hygiene and personal grooming
• Writing letters or notes
• Making repairs to the home, maintaining a yard

As you become involved you will know when it is time to bring in professional services to help or when the need to find new living arrangements is necessary. Beginning now to talk, listen and plan together can make the journey more pleasant for everyone involved.

In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday with social events where food is served, speeches are made and plays are performed. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty ( nickel, dime or quarter), per word spoken.

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania with the groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil taking center stage.

Having good balance means being able to control and maintain your body’s position, whether you are moving or remaining still. Balance helps you walk without staggering, get up from a chair without falling and climb stairs without tripping. According to CDC&P ( Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) one third of adults 65 and older fall each year.

Some exercises can improve balance. Our Balance Classes with Thomas Attardi may improve your balance.