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500 years ago, two worlds met: utterly alien, unknown, unsuspected to one another. Three men decisively shaped that encounter and its legacy for succeeding generations. In this final lecture, Pizarro and conquest of the Incas are explored.

The decade after Cortes conquered Mexico, his cousin Pizarro invaded Peru. He found, exploited, and then extended a native civil war which was to go on for decades.

Pizarro’s ruthless success and penchant for bloody excess led to desperate Inca resistance and internecine Spanish fighting. He kidnapped the Inca, Atahualpa, ransomed him for a roomful of gold, then once sated with gold and silver, executed him anyway. Pizarro was eventually assassinated by the son of his former business partner, whom he had betrayed and executed earlier.

Who was Pizarro? How and to what extent was he “successful”? How has his reputation fared over the last 500 years? (This lecture can be taken independently of Dr. Gooch’s other summer lectures.)


Dr. Herbert Gooch is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at California Lutheran University. He formerly served as Director of the Masters in Public Policy and Administration program and Assistant Provost for Graduate Studies at Cal Lutheran. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley in History, he holds a M.B.A in Management and both masters and doctoral degrees in Political Science from U.C.L.A. He has written extensively and is a frequent commentator on political affairs locally and statewide. He has been at Cal Lutheran since 1987 and lives in Newbury Park with his wife. His interests include politics, film and travel.

Fifty and Better was designed to offer university-level courses and lectures (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.

Molecular Biology continues to provide some of the most important discoveries in science. So many questions are yet to be answered regarding the inner workings of our cells. In pursuit of the answers, scientists have devised intriguing tools and fascinating experiments. This lecture will explore some of the discoveries that have driven the field forward. We will explore some of the answers and explanations to questions such as: How did we determine that DNA is the main genetic material making up the building blocks of our cells? What is PCR? What does ‘gene cloning’ mean? What was actually injected into my arm during my COVID vaccine? In a time when scientific terms are utilized on a daily basis, these questions are important to ask.

Wesley Tierney is currently a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at Arizona State University. He studies the mechanisms of Herpes Simplex Virus infection of neurons. He has worked in various research labs for seven years ranging from social psychology, entomology, regenerative medicine, virology, and neuroscience.

Fifty and Better was designed to offer university-level courses and lectures (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.

“It takes two, baby......" That's what Marvin Gaye said in 1967 when his duet with Kim Weston peaked in the Top 20 on the Billboard Pop Charts.

This lecture is in two parts: Both will be `"stand alone" to accommodate students who can attend only one lecture or the other.

In the first lecture, we will discuss the various types of duos; exploring how and why they came together. We will begin by looking at duets from the films of the 30s, 40s and 50s. We will cover the hits of Les Paul and Mary Ford as well as Bing Crosby's famous duet with Grace Kelly. We will transition to the advent of Rock & Roll and the full explosion of the duo into the 60s, from Mickey & Sylvia, The Teen Queens, to Sonny & Cher and beyond. Some of these artists/duos covered in both lectures were incredibly successful and racked up hit after hit, while other pairings were destined to be one-hit-wonders. Either way, their songs have stood the test of time.

In our second lecture, we will move chronologically from the 70s through the 90s with stops along the way for Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, and Simon & Garfunkel. We won't forget the great English duos such as Chad & Jeremy, Peter & Gordon and the artists of the second British invasion: The Eurythmics, Tears For Fears and Soft Cell. Nashville will be well represented in both lectures from superstars like the Everly Bros, Brooks & Dunn to the romantic sounds of England Dan & John Ford Coley.

In these lectures, we will examine the reason two people band together and make music. You will be amazed at how many familiar songs were recorded by these great popular duos as we stroll down memory lane and learn that sometimes two is better than one!

Tony Moon has spent 60 successful years in the Music Business. Beginning in 1960 he joined the L.A. group, Dante and The Evergreens, managed and produced by Lou Adler and Herb Alpert. He later moved to Nashville becoming Guitarist and conductor for Brenda Lee. He also began playing on recording sessions and was Nashville's first rock independent music producer, working with five major labels. He scored several big hits for The Vogues, including "5 O' Clock World" Tony has won several awards as songwriter and music publisher. His songs have been released by artists as diverse as Porter Wagoner, Willie Nelson, Vickie Carr, Pearl Jam, and The Beatles.

He currently administers several Music Publishing Companies and a New York Entertainment Company.

Fifty and Better was designed to offer university-level courses and lectures (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.

The Unitarian Universalist Association formed in 1961 as the result of the merger of the American Unitarian Association (AUA) and the Universalist Church of America. Both of these organizations had Christian roots, but the new organization presently draws from a wide variety of world religions in support of its members search for personal growth.

At 7:00 PM on May 31st, Rev. Dr. Betty Stapleford, of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Santa Paula will present an introduction to the church and its beliefs. Join us for this informative event by clicking on this link at the appointed hour: https://bit.ly/39wwMq3.

Free Event

Poesia Para la Gente is an ekphrastic reading by Latinx women poets in honor of Arte Para la Gente: The Collected Works of Margaret Garcia. This special intimate event will be hosted by the prolific Marsha de la O.

Melinda Palacio’s novel, Ocotillo Dreams received the Josephine Miles Award. Her poetry book, How Fire Is a Story, Waiting, a finalist for the Milt Kessler and Paterson Prizes, received First Prize in Poetry at the 2013 ILBA. The cover portrait is included in Arte Para La Gente by artist Margaret Garcia. In 2015, her work was featured at Academy of American Poets,. Bird Forgiveness is her latest poetry book. During the pandemic, she started writing songs.

Crystal AC Salas is a Xicanx poet, essayist, educator, and community organizer. A 2021 California Arts Council Individual Artist Grant Recipient, her chapbook Grief Logic is forthcoming in April 2022 from Gunpowder Press.

Emma Trelles is the poet laureate of Santa Barbara and the author of Tropicalia (U. of Notre Dame Press), winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. She is writing a second collection of poems titled Courage and the Clock. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she has received fellowships from CantoMundo and the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. She teaches at Santa Barbara City College and curates the Mission Poetry Series.

Luzmarie Espinosa is the poet laureate of Ventura County and has been an activist for social change through art for decades. In 1979, she became a member of the Royal Chicano Air Force, a Sacramento-based art collective involved in theater and performance poetry, which advanced the cause of the United Farm Workers movement. She also taught and performed with Danza Azteca on the Central Coast and performed in theater productions throughout California, including Teatro Inlakech of Oxnard.

Corinne Contreras is a performance poet who goes by Crn. Crn is a poet from the San Francisco Bay Area, currently residing on California’s central coast. They began writing poetry in grade school as a means of entertaining friends. Crn’s style still aims at entertainment with the hopes of evoking the reader to think about choices we make when weighing our First World Problems.

Proof of vaccination will be required on arrival for in-person attendees over 12 years of age. Masks will not be required for this event. If you would like a mask, we’re happy to provide one for you.

Artist Camille Hoffman uses materials collected from childhood and her everyday life to craft imaginary landscapes that are grounded in accumulation, rehabilitation, personal narrative, and historical critique. Taking inspiration from the Philippine weaving and Jewish storytelling traditions of her ancestors, along with traditional techniques from her academic training, she interweaves images with found objects to reveal seamless yet textured transcultural contradictions.

Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival

Fridays through Sundays, July 1–Aug. 7

Kingsmen Park

The season marking the 25th anniversary of a variety of outdoor theatrical events — the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company’s performances of William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” and “Macbeth.”

Festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking and entertainment.

“As You Like It”

Fridays through Sundays at 8 p.m., July 1-3, July 8-10, July 15-17

One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, “As You Like It” delivers a wild romantic tale that plays with gender roles, politics and nature. Featuring one of the Bard’s most iconic female characters and set in the magical Forest of Arden, the play is the perfect way to joyously return from our own exile to Shakespeare in Kingsmen Park.

“Macbeth”

Fridays through Sundays at 8 p.m., July 23-24, July 29-31, Aug 5-7

Such are the legends and superstitions surrounding Shakespeare’s most infamous tragedy that theater folk the world over avoid speaking the name of the play and its fascinating protagonist. “Macbeth” (aka The Scottish Play, Mackers, the Bard’s Play, etc.) will bring together sweeping battles, sardonic wit, occult mysteries and sublime poetry in a masterful tale of ruthless ambition — brought to life under the stars for Kingsmen’s 25th anniversary.

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is the professional theater company of Cal Lutheran. The nonprofit organization coordinates apprentice programs for professional and aspiring Shakespearean actors, an educational tour for local schools, and summer theater camps for youth.

General admission for “As You Like It” and “Macbeth” is $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 62 and over and active military, $15 for students 18 and over with ID, and free for those 17 and younger. Reserved lawn boxes are $90 to $110. A lawn box accommodates four to six, and only one ticket is required per box. Online ticketing is available for both lawn boxes and general admission.

Parking is available in the lot off Mountclef Boulevard just south of Olsen Road.

For information, visit kingsmenshakespeare.org or call 805-493-3452.

Join in as the local film and arts community celebrates the Royal Theater's past, present, and future at a mixer co-hosted by the Central Coast Film Society and SLO Women in Film and Television Chapter on Sunday, May 22 in Guadalupe.

The goal is to learn about the upcoming renovation and expansion of the Royal Theater in Guadalupe, and the importance of preserving it as a tribute to the Japanese American citizens who played a large role in the community's rich history.

"The Guadalupe Visual & Performing Arts was established to celebrate the history of the Royal Theater and to create a hub for arts and culture on the central coast. Plans are underway for a revitalization of the historic theater with an additional back building to serve as the learning center for the community." Chachi Ramirez, Executive Producer, Mercy Brothers LLC.

The mixer will include a presentation from the group leading The Guadalupe Royal Theater Renovation Project, as well as a tour of the area.

The event will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, at the Guadalupe Cafe at 860 Guadalupe St, Guadalupe.

"As a local non-profit with a mission to celebrate cinema and digital media arts, the Central Coast Film Society is dedicated to raising awareness and community support for projects like The Royal Theater renovation and expansion, especially as an opportunity to enhance the education and extracurricular activities for students with the new Civic Performing Arts Center" said Sarah Risley, president Central Coast Film Society.

For more information on the event visit centralcoastfilmsociety.org under the Events section.

500 years ago, two worlds met: utterly alien, unknown, unsuspected to one another. Three men decisively shaped that encounter and its legacy for succeeding generations. In this first of three lectures, Columbus and the initial encounter are explored.

“Discovery” is the language of European conquest. Columbus remained convinced until his death that he had found Asia (though he speculated on touching the outer shores of Paradise). He was not the scrupulous explorer or dispassionate man of science that moderns have imagined: he was not out to prove the world is round; he was led back to Spain in chains after his 3rd voyage and died embittered, broken and disappointed. So who was this Genoese sailing for the Spanish crown, with a mysterious signature and messianic complex? What did he “discover” in spite of himself? How have his deeds been variously interpreted over the last 500 years? (This lecture can be taken independently of Dr. Gooch’s other summer lectures.)

Dr. Herbert Gooch is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at California Lutheran University. He formerly served as Director of the Masters in Public Policy and Administration program and Assistant Provost for Graduate Studies at Cal Lutheran. A graduate of U.C. Berkeley in History, he holds a M.B.A in Management and both masters and doctoral degrees in Political Science from U.C.L.A. He has written extensively and is a frequent commentator on political affairs locally and statewide. He has been at Cal Lutheran since 1987 and lives in Newbury Park with his wife. His interests include politics, film and travel.

Fifty and Better was designed to offer university-level courses and lectures (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.

Parasites are some of the most complex and misunderstood organisms on earth. By definition, they subsist by living off of another organism, and it has been said that a good parasite will not kill its host (until it no longer needs it). Parasites can have many different effects on their hosts and there is a parasite for most organisms. What are some of these effects? In this lecture, we will discuss the effect of parasites on humans, insects and other animals’ behaviors. Cases will be presented and discussed.

Paloma Vargas, PhD Biomedical Sciences (NYU Sackler) emphasis in parasitology, MS. Molecular Parasitology (NYU), and BS Biology (UT El Paso and EP Community College)

Dr. Vargas serves as the Dean of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at San Diego Mesa College. Dr. Vargas has over 10 years of teaching experience and over 15 years of experience in research. Her graduate and post-doctoral work focused on host-pathogen interactions of both parasitic amoeba (E. histolytica) and Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaire’s Disease.

Dr. Vargas is a published author, has served as a tenure-track faculty member, researcher, culturally relevant pedagogy facilitator, and higher education administrator. Dr. Vargas is an anti-racist in training, centers culturally relevant pedagogy in her teaching and is an active member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and of the Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institute Educators (AHSIE).

Fifty and Better was designed to offer university-level courses and lectures (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.