1. art and entertainment
2. humor

Brandeis Men's Group WWW.BNCLA.ORG
Brandeis Men's Group LA
January
Co-Chairman's Column
by Bernie Schneier
I February 2015
Brandeis Man's Group LA Co-Chairman BMG
had its
Annual
Award
Dinner in
early De­
cember. As usual, Alan
Gottschalk and his com­
mittee did an outstanding
job. The dinner afforded
us the 0ppOitunity to pub­
lically thank 3 men who
have quietly helped us to
provide the services we
need to meet some of our
objectives; the awards
this year \vere given to
Bob Bienenfeld, Richard
Cohn and Dave Kavner.
Equally of importance,
the dinner was an occa­
sion for renewal of
friendships of people
~en's
whom we see or meet
infrequently. Members
circulated effortlessly
from one group to anoth­
er; everyone seemed hap­
py to catch up on the lat­
est news. It was a nice
'heimisch' get together.
One of our objectives is
to help build on this ca­
maraderie by offering
men a social and intellec­
tual opportunity to forge
new friendships and in­
terests. In order to em­
phasize this aspect, the
Steering Committee is
discussing the change of
our name to Brandeis
Men's Social Group. The
aim of the inclusion of
the word 'social' is to
Group Schedule
emphasize the varied
opportunities we offer
for members to socialize
in current event discus­
sion groups and/or an
opera group and/or fi­
nancial group, walking
group, etc. Interesting
side trips are another
outlet for intellectual
stimulation. So far this
year we have visited the
Skirball Museum for the
'Light and Noir' exhibit
and, the production fa­
cility of the Los Angeles
Times. Upcoming trips
are to the Judson glass
Studio, the Bower Mu­
seum, and Dodger Stadi­
um
A second objective is to
'Vomen's Group Schedule
Wed. Jan 21st 8:30am General Breakfast meet­
Wed. Jan 7th 1O:00am University
ing, Veteran's Memorial Complex 4117 Culver
on Wheels Seminar / lunch. Speaker
Blvd. Culver City speaker Molly Maher from
Brandeis
Professor Thomas Doherty,
Westside Family Health Center
Jews,
Nazis
and Hollywood
Thurs. Jan 22nd trip to the Judson Glass Studio,
Thurs. Jan. 22nd lO:OOam General
Call Richard Cohn 310-277-8884
'Wed. Jan. 28th 9:00am Steering Committee
meeting \Vestside Pavilion room-A
meets at Lenny'S deli
speaker to be announced
Wed. Feb 18th 8:30am General Breakfast Meet­
Thurs. Jan. 29th new members
ing. speaker Stan Brooks, Brandeis Graduate
luncheon at Shirley's
Thurs. Feb. 19th trip to Bowers Museul11 call
Thurs. Feb. 26 lO:OOam General
Richard Cohn 3] 0-277-8884
Wed. Feb 25th 9:00am Steering Committee
meeting Westside Pavilion meeting
meets at Lenny's Deli.
room-A speaker to be announced
Bernie S,hneier Bernie Schiffer Treasurer Bob Margolis Secretary louis Bernstein Photographer Bernie Pollatk Trips Richard Cohn Newsletter Richard Cohn Asst. Edttor Bernie Pollack Telephone Alan Gottschalk Fund Raising AI Gomer Irv Kierman David Kavner Membership
Steering (ommiHee
Louis Bernstein Bob Bieaenfeld Ahe(ohen Richard Cohn Arnie Geffner AI Gomer Alan Gottschalk Dick Harmet! Jobn Harris David Kavner Irv Kierman Bob Margolis Bernie Pollack Gerry Sailus Harold Savinar Bernie SthiHer Bernie Schneier AI Wilner Spot Light On Member: Jerome L. Lipin M.D., F.A.A.P.
Jerome Lipin
Jerry, as he is known by
family and friends, was
born and raised in Chicago.
attended Crane Tech
Iligh School where he
graduated as Valedictorian,
and after a special scholar­
ship exam, was awarded a
full scholarship for all ad­
vanced education. After
obtaining a B.S. in LAS
from University. of Illinois
(Urbana), he obtained an
M.S. in Physiology at the
.0tT Med School in Chi­
cago. He completed his 1st
year in med school while
earning his M.S., and gradu­
ated with an M.D. in 1953.
During his third year in med
School, he married Marlene
Gomberg, his wife of 63
happy years. Together they
raised four children and now
have five grandchildren. On
graduation from Med
School, they moved to LA
for a rotating internship at
LA County General Hospi­
tal. This was followed by a
two year stint at March Air
Force Base where he was in
charge of pediatrics and re­
tired as a Major in the
USAF reserves. He did his
residency in Pediatrics at
Cedars of Lebanon and at
Children's Hospital, both in
Los Angeles. His main in­
terest was in Pediatric Neu­
rology. He was an Associ­
ate Clinical Professor at
USC and taught pediatrics at
UCLA. He also served as
Chief of Pediatrics at Daniel
Freeman and Centinela Hos­
pitals and as Secretary of
the Ped's. Dept. at Cedars/
Sinai. During his career, he
was chainnan of Los Ange­
les Chapter of American
Academy of Pediatric
School Problems, Mental
Retardation, and Develop­
mental Disorders where
with the help of Henry
Waxman, had a bill passed
funding testing for T ay­
Sachs Disease in the state of
California.
Both Jerry and Marlene
have been active in support­
ing the Jewish community
as Presidents of the South­
ern Region of the Jewish
Federation. Traveling the
world over has been a high
priority. They enjoy the
Hollywood Bowl, the LA
Philharmonic, LA Opera as
well as the Center for the
Perfonning Arts. Jerry
loves deep sea fishing and
he and Marlene enjoy
spending time at there home
in Palm Springs.
Trip to Judson Glass Studio Jan. 19th
For 117 years, The Judson
Studios has been at the
foreH'ont of designing and
manufacturing traditional
stained glass windows.
With a fifth generation
owner, the studio has pre­
••• sented artistry of the high­
est caliber, while keeping a
strong emphasis on the
traditions that were put in
place when the business
began. The studio takes
pride in combining old
,"vorld techniques with
technological innovations
2
to remove the veil between
the artist and the customer,
to give them an interactive
and memorable experi­
ence. The studio designs,
manufactures, and installs
stained glass windows of
all different shapes and
sizes. They are also trained
to remove, repair/restore
and reinstall windows that
were made in any studio.
They have notably worked
on windows created by the
great Louis Comfort Tiffa­
ny.
The beauty and fascinating
part about stained glass is
that the glass wi111ast for­
ever, which allows the art­
istry in the window to last
for centuries.
Recently Judson Glass has
done work for USC Catho­
lic Center, Our Lady of
The Angels Cathedral in
downtown LA as well as
the recently remodeled
Wilshire Blvd. Temple
here in Los Angeles.
From Brandeis to NASA Venus may be the goddess of
love but her celestial eponym
is downright nasty.
Temperatures rage upward of
900 degrees Fahrenheit, hot
enough to melt lead. High at­
mospheric pressure crushes
asteroids before they can pene­
trate the planet's thick clouds
of sulfuric acid. The only
probes ever to land on Venus'
surface survived about two
hours before being destroyed
by the elements.
To explore planets with such
extreme environments, NASA
needs equipment strong
enough to survive these harsh
eonditions, sensitive enough to
perform scientific research,
and small enough to fit on a
spacecraft.
Luckily for NASA, Valerie
Scott '05, is on the case. An
inorganie chemist at r~ASA's
f.IPlJ, in Pasadena, Calif.,
Scott designs small teelmolo­
gies for space and planetary
exploration. One of her mis­
sions is to develop instruments
to chemically analyze soil,
rock or ice samples on the sur­
face of celestial bodies.
The first step in creating such
instruments is designing tech­
nology that can withstand the
stresses of space travel, includ­
ing the shock of launch and
landing, huge fluctuations in
temperature and the merciless
environments of foreign
worlds.
'Traditional electronics can't
survive an environment like
the one on Venus," Scott says.
"So we need to develop tech­
nologies that can operate effec­
tively in harsh environments."
six feet under than up to the
heavens. But at Brandeis, she
fell in love with inorgani<;.
fl1emj~tIY and cut her teeth
doing research with former
Professor Oleg Ozerov.
Scott and her team. which in­
cludes physicists, roboticists
and engineers, are developing
carbon nanotube electronics
cylindrical structures made of
carbon
to withstand ex­
treme temperatures.
After Brandeis, Scott earned a
PhD in inorganic chemistry at
the CaJifgmia Instj!1lte of
Technology: She started work­
ing for the Jet Propulsion La­
boratory as a postdoctoral fel­
low and decided to stay
on. "At some schools, the un­
Another challenge is extracting dergraduate researcher is the
and analyzing samples because lowest on the totem pole. They
techniques for sample analysis work for a graduate student,
on Earth won't cut it in space. who \yorks for a post-doc, who
works for the professor. But I
worked
directly with Professor
"On Earth, if you want to ex­
Ozerov,"
Scott says. "It was a
tract amino acids from dirt,
great
research
experience."
you boil the sample in hydro­
chloric acid," Scott says. "But
The equipment she and her
you can't easily convince a
team design are years, perhaps
flight team to take HCI on a
decades,
away from being de­
spacecraft, so the challenge is
ployed
in
outer space but Scott
finding a new process with
says she doesn't mind waiting.
materials that are cheap, easy
to handle and purify, like wa­
"So many technologies devel­
ter. "
oped by NASA end up having
Scott and her colleagues devel­ commercial applications on
Earth. If something I develop
oped a device that breaks
can be used on Earth, that
down chemical bonds using
would
be a big win, too," Scott
water heated by radio frequen­
says.
cy radiation. The results can
then be analyzed in several
But nothing will match the
ways, including using a mass
spectrometer similar to one on exhilaration of seeing her tech­
board the Mars Curiosity Rov­ nologies on the launch pad, she
er.
says.
Scott never imagined one day "If or when that happens, it
working for NASA. With a
will be incredible."
passion for forensics, Scott
was more interested in looking
Did You Know...
The tuition cost for one year $45,856 and the average
at Brandeis University is
cost for room and board is
an additional $12,714. This
totals $58,570 per year
Scott In Her Lab
February 19th, Trip to Bowers Museum tusks, monumental bronzes,
and a life-sized statue of a
nobleman at Sanxingdui,
about 24 miles outside of
the Sichuan Province capitol
of Chengdu. Most of the
contents had been intention­
ally destroyed and deposited
in two large pits. This
chance discovery has be­
come one of the most im­
portant archaeological finds
of the 20th century and has
forced scholars to rewrite
early Chinese history. The
During the summer of 1986, objects date to about 1200
BC, a time when it was
construction workers acci­
thought that the cradle of
dentally uncovered an
Chinese civilization existed
astounding cache of more
745 miles to the nOliheast
than 200 ancient jades,
on
the Yellow River in Chi­
weapons, bumedardmal
na's Central Plain region.
bones, over 60 elephant
Bowers Museum is proud to
present the latest in its series
of exhibits highlighting im­
portant treasures from
around the world. China's
Lost Civilization: The Mys­
telY of Sanxingdui will in­
clude objects from the dis­
covery termed "the ninth
wonder of the world" and
acknowledged by many
scholars as one of the great­
est archaeological finds ever
to be unearthed.
January Speaker: Molly Maher
The Westside Fami ly Health
Center in Santa \10nica pro­
vides comprehensive, high
quality, cost effective health
care in an educational and
supportive environment that
empowers patients to take
an assertive role in caring
for their well being through
Excavation at Sanxingdui
reveal the remains of a so­
phisticated culture who ex­
celled in their bronze mak­
ing abilities. These cast
bronzes were far larger and
much stranger in appear­
ance than an)lthing seen in
the ancient world before.
The three largest masks are
in the fonn of human heads
with supernatural features
including large wing-like
ears, monstrously protrud­
ing eyes or ornate append­
ages. Other bronzes reveal
traces of paint or are cov­
ered with gold. The
Sanxingdui culture left: no
written record or human
remains and appears to have
existed for only about 350
years before it vanished.
Development Mgr. Westside Family Health
all stages of life. It is a
comprehensive low and no
cost community health cen­
ter that provides prenatal
care, aging pediatric ser­
vices, women's health, ado­
lescent health care, men's
services as well as healthy
aging and community out-
reach programs. They serve
low income and uninsured
men. women, and children
who primarily live, work ot
attend school in the Greater
West Los Angeles area. In
2013 they had 26,898 visits
from 258 zip codes.
~--------------~
Did You Know...
countries from around the
The student community at
and internationally recog­
Brandeis University consists world. Truly Brandeis Uni­ nized institution tor higher
of students from over 100
versity is a highly respected learning in the world.
4
Co Chairman's Colum Continued From Page 1
are sent to Brandeis Uni­
versity. In the periods 2008­
'09 and 2009-' 10, $20,150
and $16,900, respectively,
were sent to BNe. Some of
these monies were ear­
marked for plaques honor­
ing Arthur Ames, Marty Li­
buser, and Rudy Winkler.
Then Irv Kiennan proposed
that we initiate a 3 year pro­
gram to raise $50,000 to
support a fellowship for re­
search in neurodegenerative
disease. Thanks to the gen­
erosity of The Men's Group,
a $100,000 fund has been
established to support a
graduate student. Tbe
amounts sent to BNC were
$27,050, $27, 050 and
$12,672 in the periods 2010
-11,2011 12, 2012-13, re­
spectively.
Now we support a BNC
program 'Sustaining the
Mind'. For the period end­
ing June 2014, BMG sent
a check in the amount of
$15,000 to Waltham.
BMG has a lot to offer you
and your friends. Bring your
friends to our meetings; they
may thank you later. Pmiici­
pate in our activities. You
might feel stimulated anew.
Stay Healthy and Happy.
Bernie Schneier
February Speaker: Stan Brooks, award-winning producer
Stan Brooks is an awardwinning producer of film
and television with more
than 30 years of industry
experience. He has pro­
duced more than 60 movies
for film and television since
1989.
He is a graduate of Brandeis
University, and he also
holds a master's degree in
fine arts from the American
Film Institute. Stan is an
adjunct professor at the
American Film Institute
Center for Advanced Film
and Television Studies.
In 2008 Stan produced the
miniseries "The Capture of
the Green River Killer" for
the Lifetime Movie Net­
work. In 2009 Brooks pro­
duced the television film
"Prayers for Bobby: which
earned an E111my n0111ina­
5
tion. Brooks produced and
directed "Perfect Sisters",
his first feature film in 2012.
The film went on to receive
praiseworthy reviews from
both the Los Angeles Times
and the New York Times.
The film continues to domi­
nate VOD and digital down­
loads.
In 2013, Brooks produced
the hit docu-reality series
"Hollywood Scandals" for
the Reels Network.
Brooks directed his second
feature in 2014 with a truecrime drama, "The Grim
Sleeper", which follows LA
'Weekly reporter Christine
Pelisek (Walker) as she dog­
gedly investigates the un­
solved murders of dozens of
women in Los Angeles only
to realize that one person is
responsible for the deaths of
many of
that
gan over 20 years earlier.
Of all his accomplishments,
Brooks considers his great­
est pride, the founding of
The Hollywood Indies Little
League Foundation, a chari­
table organization that in
1995 brought Little League
baseball back to an aban­
doned park in South Los
Angeles. It is now the cities
largest Little League pro­
gram. The following year
Brooks was recognized by
the Los Angeles Board of
Supervisors for his special
contribution to the parks and
children of LA. Now in it's
20th season, H.I.L.L. con­
tinues to thrive at Jesse Ow­
ens Park in South Central.
Los Angeles.
Did You Know ...
Brandeis has a rich athletic
tradition. The university
fields intercollegiate teams
in 9 men's teams and 10
women's teams participating University Athletic Associa­
in various sports. Brandeis tion.
is one of eight division III
schools that competes in the
Jesse Appell '12: comedian and global Internet sensation
.Sometimes the greatest gift
you can give is a smile.
popular K-pop song, generated
millions of views on Chinese
sites within days and numerous
Living by this philosophy, Jes­ interview requests from Chi­
nese television outlets.
become a
se Appell '12
global comedic sensation, a
Chinese social media star and "It's hard to say whether I
a master of parody. His jour­
have celeb status," jokes Ap­
ney began at Brandeis when he pell. "Celebrity is tricky, lots
\vas awarded a Fulbright
of people know my stuff but I
don't have one consistent plat­
Scholarship to go to Beijing
form where people can find
and study Chinese comedy.
me. But I do have videos that
~messed
have gone around the Inter­
to study net."
="'-==.z-~-=~"'" in the first
Appell's website, laughbei­
place," says Appell, who still
lives in Beijing as a comedian jing.com, promotes his ,vork as
and entrepreneur. "Even when a comedian, parody song artist,
the fellowship ended, I thought and writer of satire. But he
'this is a lot of fun and I'm
does live shows as \vell. He
el~joying these new experienc­ performed his latest show,
es,' and 1 knew that if! didn't "The Great LOL Tour of Chi­
11a," at Brandeis on Nov. 13 as
make these jokes up, no one
part of InternationaiEducation
else would."
Week. Appell's show, the first
The Newton, Mass. native has half of which was conducted
completely in Chinese, was
always loved making people
part of a North American com­
laugh. His comedic back­
edy tour he started seven
ground goes beyond his days
weeks
ago.
with the Brandeis improv
Appell practiced the craft of
xiansheng, a type of crosstalk
comedy, with 69-year-old Chi­
nese actor Ding Guangquan
while he was studying in Chi­
na as a Fulbright Scholar. He
then combined what he'd
learned about Chinese comedy,
language and culture with his
natural ability to make people
laugh.
But behind the smiles and
jokes, there is a more serious
side to Appell's work. He be­
lieves that he can be a force for
positive relations between Chi­
na and the U.S. by connecting
the two cotlltries through
laughter. Appell says his expe­
rience at Brandeis, during
which he embraced the com­
mitment to social justice and
social
as well as his
responsibility as a global citi­
zen, drives what he does.
"The idea of doing what you
do because it has a social pur­
pose is really stTong in my
way to make
work. The
a friend is to learn how to
group =-.",.".,,~...:.==~.
His Brandeis show, whieh fea­ laugh with
" says AppelL
"It's true in globallife, too.
While in Beijing, Appell found tured a stand-up routine and
spoofs on American rap songs, "I'm worried that the relation­
that he also was able to tickle
met with great laughter
was
ship between the U.S. and Chi­
China's funny bone, which led
from
the packed I ecture hall of na won't have that dynamic
him to be an Internet and tele­
American and Chinese stu­
aspect to it. You want to like
vision celebrity. "Laowai
dents.
others and laugh with them,
Stvle," his parody video of
it's a general human connec­
"Gangnam Style," the highly
tion between two countries."
6
Join the Los Angeles Chapter, SNe, for the 2015
UNIVERSITY ON WHEELS "JEWS, NAZIS
AND
HOLLYWOOD CINEMA"
with PROFESSOR THOMAS DOHERTY, PhD.
Professor and Department Chair of American Studies
Brandeis University
A cultural historian with a special Interest in Hollywood
cinema, Thomas Doherty is a professor of American
Studies and chair of
American Studies Program at
Brandeis. His most recent book "Hollywood and Hitler,
1933-1939", Is an engaging look at the American film
studios during Hitler's rise to power.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7,2015
9:30 AM
Continenta' Breakfast followed by Le'fran'eaiia Lunch­
Stephen S. Wise Temple 15500 Stephen S. Wise Drive, Los Angeles 90077 Open to SNe Members and Guests $65.00 Reservations postmarked r,-c:[email protected]~rJh.;tn. Dec. 27. 2014 $75.00 reservations postmarked after Dec. 27, 2014 All proceeds to benefit "Sustaining the Mind" Campaign -- $25 tax deductib'e For additional information call Mimi Rotter 310-479-0259 Mail check (payable to SNC). with tear·off to: Roberta Kampner, 2142 Century Park Lane. #308, LA. CA 9D067. Reservations must be received no later than January 3rd. Please PRINT legibly. UoW15. Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Member~ Yes
Non-member_
Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ City _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Zip _ _ __ Telephone _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Email _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ # Reservations @ $65.00 or $75 person _ _ Total Amount enclosed $ _ _ __ Check # -,--_ _ I cannot attend but am enclosing a donation in the amount of $
Check # _ __ Please seat me with_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Please use the back of this tear-off for additional guests indicating member or non-member
7
Men's Group News
1477 S. Beverwil Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phon~
310-277-8884
Fax: 310-286-3123
E-mail: [email protected]
Fraternity, Philanthropy, and Learning
ALLEN KWAWER
8611 BURTON WAY #19
LOS ANGELES CA 90048-3932
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Interest Groups
Investment Group meets the
1st Monday of the month.
Contact Dan Birnbaum 310­
474-8989.
Current Events Group
(Encino) meets the 4th Mon­
day of the month. Contact
Ron Zane 818-788- 1618
Bridge Group meets the first
Tuesday of the Month. Con­
tact Bernie Pollack 818-223­
8983.
Opera Group meets the 3rd
Friday of the month. Contact
Marty Jaffe 323-653-4090
Current Events Group # 1
meets the 3rd Tuesday of the
month. Contact Harold Savinar
323-935-2202.
Current Events Group # 2
meets the 2nd Thursday of the
month. Contact Bernie Schiffer
310-476-5077
Culver City Veterans Memorial
Complex, site of the BMG LA Monthly
Breakfast Meetings, is locuted 01
Overland & Culver in Culver City.
Page 6
8
Current Events Group # 3
meets the 1st Wednesday of
the month at the Westwood
Horizon. Contact Henry Gass
310-444-7152
Short Story Group mee'~ the
4th Tuesday of the mon:~.
Contact Mel Brunetti 310-546
-5323
Sports Group Contact Louis
Bernstein 310-275-7736 or
John Harris 323-650-0664
General Meeting (Breakfast)
meets the 3rd Wednesday of
the month at 8:30 am at the
Veterans Memorial Complex
in Culver City.
City Walking Group Contact
Gerry Sallus 310-559-2356
Valley Walking Group every
Thursday, contact Ron Zane
818-406-0024
Travel Group contact Richard
Lawrence 310-476-2579 or
Richard Cohn 310-277-8884
Play Reading Group meets
2nd Monday every month
contact Louis Bernstein 310­
275-7736
Steering Committee meets the
4th Wednesday of the month
9:00am at Lenny's Deli.