• Great Decisions

• Monday or Thursday

  (Group sets their yearly calendar)

• See calendars for specific dates 

• 9:30 am

• $15/person for Briefing Book

This very popular Foreign Policy Association program is designed to encourage debate and discussion of important global issues. Through the process of reading, discussing, and expressing informed views on important international issues, participants discover the linkage between “global” and “local” concerns. Featured topics for 2007 include: Middle East, Climate Change, Mexico, Migration, South Africa, War Crimes, Central Asia, and Children’s rights.

• AARP’s Driver Safety Program

• Thursday & Friday, February 8 & 9

• Location: PTSC 

• 9 am-1 pm

• $10/person by check made payable to AARP

• Please note that we are now offering this program in conjunction with HPSC. We will              alternate locations of the classes.

Learn defensive driving techniques, new traffic laws, rules of the road, and much more in this 8-hour course. Find out how to adjust your driving to age related changes in vision, hearing, and reaction time. Auto insurance companies in most states provide a multiyear discount to AARP Driver Safety program graduates. Consult your insurance agent.

• January/February Movies @ 1 PM

Thurs., January 4            “The DaVinci Code”                         PG13

Dan Brown’s controversial best-selling novel about a powerful secret that has been kept under wraps for thousands of years comes to the screen in this suspense thriller from director Ron Howard. The stately silence of Paris’ Louvre Museum is broken when one of the gallery’s leading curators is found dead on the grounds, with strange symbols carved into his body and left around the spot where he died. A gifted cryptographer (Audrey Tautou) and a leading symbologist (Tom Hanks) team up to solve the mystery.

Fri., January 12               “The Devil Wears Prada”             PG13                           

Lauren Weisberger’s best-selling novel about a young woman (Anne Hathaway) who stumbles into the hectic worlds of high fashion and publishing comes to the big screen in this comedy. Meryl Streep gives a bravura performance as Miranda Priestly—the diva editor of “Runway” who has plenty of power within the magazine business and isn’t afraid to use it.

Thurs., January 18            “An Inconvenient Truth”             

Former Vice President Al Gore shares his concerns on the pressing issue of global warming in this acclaimed documentary. Mr. Gore discusses the scientific facts behind global warming, explains how it has already begun to affect our environment, talks about the disastrous consequences if the word’s governments and citizens do not act and shares what each individual can do to help protect the Earth for this and future generations.  

Fri., January 26                 “Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont”            PG13

An elderly widow and a young would-be author strike up an unlikely friendship in this comedy drama. Mr. Palfrey (Joan Plowright) has been uneasy sine the death of her husband, and decides to move from her long-time home in Scotland to London so she can be closer to her grandson. She settles into the Claremont Hotel, a shabby residential inn for senior citizens that has seen better days. She goes out for a walk one day and takes a nasty spill after losing her balance. A struggling writer in his mid-twenties assists her and makes sure she’s OK. The two strike up a conversation and discover they have a surprising amount in common. A friendship grows between them that impacts on both their lives.

Thurs., February 01            “World Trade Center”              PG13

Oliver Stone once again offers a powerful and provocative story based on real-life events in this drama. Sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and William J. Jimeno (Michael Pena), two NYC Port Authority officers received an emergency call on 9/11/01 to help evacuate the World Trade Center Towers. They were in the fifth building when the towers fell and were two of the last people found alive amidst the wreckage. As the two men struggled to survive and their families struggled to remain hopeful, the city and the nation came together with strength and compassion in the face of this tragedy.

Fri., February 09                 “Mission Impossible III”            PG13

The third entry in Tom Cruise’s film series involves super agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) being forced back into the field just when he was planning on marrying his girlfriend Julia (Michelle Monaghan). The agency asks him to save an operative (Keri Russell) whom he trained when she is kidnapped by weapons dealer Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman. He deals with a web of double crosses that leave him wondering if he can even trust his superiors.

• “The Merchant of Venice”: A Jewish Perspective

Sponsored by ManorCare

• Register by calling 847-543-6507

• Tuesday, February 13 @ 7 p.m.

• Highland Park Country Club (1201 Park Avenue West, Highland Park)

• Free but advance registration required

Since many people think that Shakespeare’s character Shylock is an important link in the long and tragic history of anti-Semitism, any production of “The Merchant of Venice” is controversial especially after the Holocaust. In this third of five lectures in the Second Tuesday Series, Rabbi Herbert Bronstein, who has lectured on this subject for the Stratford, Ontario Shakespeare Festival, will bring his own perspective on this ever-fascinating drama after many years of study of the text and its many productions.

• Libya—Kaddafi’s Land of Hidden Treasure

Sponsored by ManorCare

• Register by calling 847-543-6507

• Tuesday, March 13 @ 7 p.m.

• Highland Park Country Club (1201 Park Avenue West, Highland Park)

• Free but advance registration required

Libya’s ancient treasures have attracted little attention since the political situation there has made travel and tourism nearly impossible. In this fourth of five lectures in the Second Tuesday Series, Frank Underbrink, photographer for a recent expedition to sites UNESCO has named World Heritage Sites in Libya, will relate his experiences and findings. Slide highlights will include ancient underground Christian tombs;  the Roman glories at Leptis Magna, one of the best preserved Roman cities on the Mediterranean coast of Africa; and the fascinating ancient city of Ghadames, a site with a history of Paleolithic, Neolithic, roman, Greek and Arab civilizations in the Sahara Desert.

• Digital Cameras I

• #213114-01

• Monday, 01/18-01/29 (4 weeks)

• 7-9 pm @ PTSC

• $120/person

Digital Photography is changing the way we use computers. Film prices and development continue to be on the rise. This interesting class will focus on some general use of picture taking, transferring pictures from a digital camera to a computer, and adjusting picture quality. Students will work in Adobe Photoshop Elements to transform their works of art onto paper. Students will also receive a blank CD and learn how to backup their photos onto a CD which they can keep. Students will also use the Microsoft Photo Printing Wizard to transform their work onto paper. Time permitting students will learn how to send pictures via email to family and friends! Be sure to enroll early as this class fills very quickly. (Four 2-hour classes, each with a 10 minute break)

• Digital Cameras II

• #213123-01

• Monday, 02/05-02/26 (4 weeks)

• 7-9 pm @ PTSC

• $120/person

This class will focus on Photo Editing. Students will be using a number of the important features of Adobe Photoshop Elements to enhance photographs. Students will learn how to condense pictures so that they can be sent and received more quickly via eMail. Please note: if you own a camera, please bring it along with your battery charger, software it came with and cables to connect it to our training computers. If you do not own a camera, we will be happy to supply cameras for use during class. (Four 2-hour classes, each with a 10 minute break)

• Intro to Keyboard / Mouse I

• #213111-01

• Tuesday, 01/09-01/23 (3 weeks)

• 7-9 pm @ PTSC

• $90/person

Computer mice don't bite, instead they can sometimes be frustrating and intimidating to use. This hands-on class will get you acquainted with the computer's keyboard and mouse. Whether you have never used a computer before, or have very little typing experience, this class is for you! Students attending this class will learn how to control a mouse by understanding when to click, double-click and use the scroll buttons.

• Intro to Keyboard / Mouse II

• #213112-01

• Tuesday, 02/06-02/20 (3 weeks)

• 7-9 pm @ PTSC

• $90/person

This class continues the fundamentals of usage of the keyboard and mouse. Students attending this class will have some review from Keyboard & Mouse I. You will then advance to learning handy keyboarding functions such as understanding those special keys on the keyboard that you have been afraid to touch. You will also acquire some intermediate keyboard and mouse skills and have time to practice them.

• e-Mail I

• #213113-01

• Wednesday, 01/10-01/24 (3 weeks)

• 7-9 pm @ PTSC

• $90/person

Students will learn how to setup an e-Mail account using Microsoft Outlook Express. Once this e-mail account is setup successfully, you will then learn how to compose, send, receive, forward and reply to e-Mail messages. Also covered is how to work with an address book: adding/editing/deleting entries and working with group names. Time permitting, this class will then focus on how to send e-Mail with attachments as well as how to download and receive e-Mail attachments sent to students.

• e-Mail II

• #213115-01

• Wednesday, 02/07-02/21 (3 weeks)

• 7-9 pm @ PTSC

• $90/person

You will learn/review the fundamentals of e-Mail: sending, receiving, replying, and forwarding. You will learn how to send and receive e-Mail attachments, how to locate attachments and how to organize e-Mail and attachments. We will also cover how to eliminated junk e-Mail (Spam).