Lectures, Talks & Tours: July 2010
Tours go deep and wide this month, while writers delve into what moves them.
CARNEGIE SCIENCE CENTER-REQUIN TECH TOUR: JULY 11
These tours go deep into the technology of the USS Requin, docked in the Ohio River next to Carnegie Science Center. The submarine is one of several built for the U.S Navy between 1944 and 1951.
Although usually open every day for museum visitors, the sub will offer more for this occasion, during which sections seldom seen by the general public will be open. Also, the walk-through and discussions about underwater challenges will be crewed by senior staff with naval backgrounds, history degrees and fluency in naval and military history. Each visit is limited to 12 able-bodied persons no younger than 15.
(1 Allegheny Ave., North Shore. Sun., July 11, 9-11 a.m. $12-$15. Info: 412/237-1637, carnegiesciencecenter.org)
JOSEPH-BETH BOOKSELLERS READING AND BOOK SIGNING: JULY 26
The creative imagination of author Peter Beagle, who will be reading and signing books at Joseph-Beth Booksellers this month, has traveled far and wide. He’s the creator of The Last Unicorn, often considered one of the top-10 fantasy novels of all time ever since it leaped into the world in 1968. In fact, the novel has been followed by several incarnations, including a 1982 animated film feature and his tail-end novelette Two Hearts, which captured the 2006 Hugo Award plus the 2007 Nebula Award. Moreover, three more unicorn books are due to emerge this year, along with others on different themes.
Beagle is spending extra time in Pittsburgh attending Confluence, a literary science-fiction convention, where he’s expected to call attention to songs he’s written. And he plans to follow further paths, researching for a forthcoming baseball fantasy set here, given that, although New York born, he came to Pittsburgh at age 16 on a scholarship in the creative-writing program at the University of Pittsburgh.
(Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 2705 E. Carson St., South Side. Mon., July 26, 7 p.m. Free. Info: 412/381-3600, josephbeth.com)
CARNEGIE MUSEUM OF ART’S CULTURE CLUB: JULY 15
This month’s meeting of CMA’s Culture Club focuses on newly revealed imaginations in the Two-Minute Film Festival. It’s a collection of works competitively submitted last month, each limited to 120 seconds.
For the competition, the museum’s contemporary-art department has encouraged expansion on the ideas and images in “Forum 65,” an exhibit made of three moving image works. There, silent loops by William E. Jones, Joachim Koester, Rosalind Nashashibi and Lucy Skaer make points about the Great Depression, explore the fringes of bodies in the throes of the tarantula and rhythmically illuminate statues and other objects at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Attendees can vote for their favorite new film, resulting in the evening’s Viewer’s Choice Award. Drinks and food are additional choices with two drink tickets included in the admission price.
(Sculpture Court, Carnegie Museum of Art, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Thurs., July 15, 7:30 p.m.; film screenings, 9:30 p.m. $10. Info: 412/622-3131, cmoa.org)
MYSTERY LOVERS BOOKSHOP TALK & BOOK SIGNING: JULY 16
Lisa Gardner makes her first visit to the bookshop Fri., July 16. Her career took off with The Perfect Husband, and now she’s a New York Times best-selling author of 12 novels. Live to Tell, published this month, is the fourth in her series involving Boston homicide detective D.D. Warren.
Tess Gerritsen, likewise an author of New York Times best-sellers, also has things to tell. The internist-turned-novelist gained nationwide acclaim for Harvest, her first novel of medical suspense. Subsequently, she’s written seven in this series featuring medical examiner Maura Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli.
No. 8 in the sequence emerges on July 27; it’s Ice Cold, prompting the Bookshop to give visitors free Popsicles for this potentially hot-ticket event.
(Mystery Lovers Bookshop, 514 Allegheny River Blvd., Oakmont. 7 p.m. Free. Info: 412/828-4877, mysterylovers.com)
