June 12, 2005

Curious George: Learning Vacations Any monkeys been on any learning vacations? Like this one for book-lovers or this for gourmet cooks and um, even something for those who are into moose photography or ukeleles . How about picking one randomly from this 100 page (PDF) catalog at Chautauqua, the grand-daddy of summer course madness.

A course on an interesting subject taught by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable teacher. It's the goodness. Okay I admit it, I'm a course junkie. I must tell you I have no intention of losing the habit. So tell me about your learning vacation experiences, pronto!

  • I've always wanted to attend Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, but have never been able to swing it time- or moneywise. This year's schedule has some great courses taught in some fantastic places by stellar people, if you're into things biblio.
  • I once did a weeklong martial arts seminar back when I was really into that. I'd really like to go to the Bead & Button Show one year, as they attract some of the best beadwork instructors in the U.S. Their prices have risen exponentially over the past 3 years as beadwork becomes a vogue yuppie hobby, though, so my chances of going to this show are receding.
  • Biblio, Rhiannon, neat links! This is funny but when i first look at them, i think naw, this isn't for me. But then i start clicking and think hmmm, that codicology sounds like fun stuff, and then on the bead thing, what exactly is a herringbone weave? the biggest dilemma in all of these is the not knowing whether the course is any good or not until afterwards...
  • I always wanted to spend a vacation at the Smithsonian taking classes. *sigh* I've never taken a Chautauqua class, but I did attend a concert there, and the one here, and it looked like a neat community.
  • Those certainly look fascinating, the Reader's Guide to Renaissance Florence, sign me up! The only problem is that they look like weekly courses, which would make it expensive for someone coming into Washington from out of town.