Mensa AG 2019

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Mensa Running Club (Room Lobby)

05 Jul 19
6:30 AM - 8:00 AM

Tracks: Fitness

Speaker(s): Rob Swenson
The Mensa Running Club will have daily morning group runs, typically around sunrise, meeting in the hotel lobby. We run at a conversational pace to... More...

Breakfast in Hospitality (Room Phoenix C, D, & E)

05 Jul 19
7:30 AM - 9:00 AM

Tracks: Meal

Daily offerings include whole fruit, cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, pastries, toast, and eggs. More...

Beginner Yoga (Room Valley of the Sun)

05 Jul 19
8:00 AM - 8:45 AM

Tracks: Fitness

Speaker(s): Marina Durbin
Enjoy an interactive introduction to the practice of yoga. Meld movement and breath for the ultimate mind-body practice. This class is aimed to new... More...

Annual Business Meeting (Room Encanto A)

05 Jul 19
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Tracks: Mensa

You’re an American Mensan, and you want to know what’s happening with your organization. Come to the ABM and hear reports from the Chairman, Treasu... More...

Aqua Zumba (Room The Pool)

05 Jul 19
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Tracks: Fitness

Speaker(s): Jeannie Day
It’s a Zumba party in the pool! Aqua Zumba is a cardio fitness class in the water. There is less impact on your joints during an Aqua Zumba c... More...

City Tour with Taliesin West (Room Lobby)

05 Jul 19
9:00 AM - 1:30 PM

Tracks: Tours

Speaker(s): Across Arizona
Showcasing the unique Southwestern architecture of Phoenix and Scottsdale, this tour offers looks at distinctive city styles, including the beautif... More...

Mensa Marketplace (Room Third Street Foyer)

05 Jul 19
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Tracks: Other

We support our own!  The Marketplace is a forum for Mensans who are registered for the AG to display and sell hand-crafted items — anyth... More...

Celebrating an Isaac Asimov Centennial (Room Valley of the Sun)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Ian Randal Strock ; Richard Lederer Ph.D.
Jan. 2, 2020, marks the centennial of the birth of our most famous Mensan and most prolific author in the history of the U S of A. That would be Ne... More...

Intergenerational Necessity: Sacred Sites, Federal Indian Law and Policy, and the Future (Room Camelback)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Rebecca Tsosie
The recent controversy over development of the lands within the Bears Ears National Monument highlighted the vulnerability of Native American sacre... More...

Lockpick Village (Room Overlook Foyer)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: SIG

The sport of lockpicking has long been a pasttime for kids and adults alike. Very popular in many European countries, locksport encourages particip... More...

Mensa 101/The Basics of Mensa (Room Maryvale A)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: LDW

Speaker(s): John Neemidge ; Lori Norris
Learn about the history of Mensa, the organizational structure (local, national and international), be introduced to the Mensa Foundation, get a gr... More...

Pente Tournament (Room Ahwataukee)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: Tournament

Speaker(s): Alice Silver
Pente was a very popular game of the 1980s. A game of skill, simple to learn and play, Pente can have the tactical depth of chess. Some Mensans pla... More...

Pollyanna SIG Meet-and-Greet (Room North Mountain)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: Meet and Greet, SIG

Speaker(s): Tony Belarmino
Are you optimistic in the face of problems? Do other people look down on you because of your positive attitude? Are you a firm believer that lookin... More...

Simplify Your Life: 8 Simple Principles to Turn Your Chaos into Calm (Room Paradise Valley)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Andrea Brundage
If you find yourself overwhelmed, stressed out, embarrassed, or frustrated because of clutter, you will not want to miss this workshop. Andrea Brun... More...

The Book of Creation and a Universe of Change, or, Why does the Pope have an Observatory? (Room Encanto B)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Paul Gabor S.J., Ph.D.
The Vatican Observatory is Vatican City State’s astrophysics research institute, originally founded because of the calendar reform in 1582. Science... More...

Whistleblowers: An Insider’s Look at Risks, Rewards, Laws, Outcomes & Bounties (Room Deer Valley)

05 Jul 19
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Brian Mahany
Whistleblowers at private companies are responsible for uncovering massive swindles on American taxpayers as healthcare providers cheat Medicare, d... More...

Lunch in Hospitality (Room Phoenix C, D, & E)

05 Jul 19
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Tracks: Meal

Summer squash, tomato and orzo soup  (vegetarian). Beef Tacos with salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, and flour & corn t... More...

Volunteer Marketplace (Room Maryvale A)

05 Jul 19
12:00 PM - 1:15 PM

Tracks: LDW

Speaker(s): Billie Lee ; Timothy Brooks
Learn how to use our new Volunteer Market on the American Mensa website to recruit volunteers for your Local Group. You can post leadership and vol... More...

City Tour with Heard Museum (Room Lobby)

05 Jul 19
1:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Tracks: Tours

Speaker(s): Across Arizona
A stop at the world-famous Heard Museum of Native American Culture is the highlight of a tour featuring an expert guide helping you explore the Son... More...

Because Science IS Funny!: The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, and You (Room Encanto A)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Dave Zobel
Something astonishing keeps cropping up on TV’s The Big Bang Theory and its highly successful spinoff, Young Sheldon — namely, actual s... More...

Burn Before Reading (Room Deer Valley)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Robert Dukelow
Unbelievably screwed-up intelligence operations rarely make headlines unless people die or major political figures are involved. In his 33-year car... More...

Communications Committee Meeting (Room Coronado)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Mensa

This meeting is open to those who are interesting in meeting our new Communications Officer, learning more about the Comm Comm, and to discuss goal... More...

Hi Jolly and the Mystery of the U.S. Army Camel Corps (Room Camelback)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Casey Davis
This exciting presentation explores the experiment of employing camels in the American Southwest during the mid-19th century and how the legend of ... More...

Hustle, Baby (TEENS ONLY) (Room Laveen B)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Teen

Speaker(s): Don Jacobs
If you’re thinking dance, you’re in the right place. Although the ’80s have come and gone, disco music is alive and well. So now is a good time to ... More...

Jonathan’s Killer Spelling Bee (Room Ahwataukee)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Tournament

Speaker(s): Jonathan Elliott
Our format change was a big hit last year, where nobody gets eliminated and we simply keep track of everyone’s correct spellings to determine the w... More...

Let's Go to Mars! (Room Encanto B)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Dale Partin
Colonizing Mars has long been the stuff of science fiction. But we are now on the threshold of making the possibility of Martian colonization a rea... More...

London SIG Meet-and-Greet (Room North Mountain)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet, SIG

Speaker(s): John Adams
Outside London and the internet, this is the only meeting of American Mensa’s London SIG. Whether you live in London, have visited, or are just int... More...

M-Prov: Improvisational Theater Workshop for Adults (Room Laveen A)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Judson Wright ; Robin Jurkowski
Outgoing? Shy? Adventurous? Socially anxious? Breathing? If you answered yes to any of these, you’re absolutely ready to dip your toes into the wor... More...

Region 3 Meet-and-Greet (Room Alhambra)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet

Speaker(s): John Voymas
Join newly re-elected RVC-3 John Voymas and other members of the Great Lakes & Ohio Valley Region to talk about what is going on in Mensa as a ... More...

Should My Computer Plead the Fifth? (Room Paradise Valley)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Norm Pattis
Will your computer land you in jail through no fault of your own? It’s possible. Computers are becoming more autonomous and capable of learning on ... More...

The Mensa Foundation (Room Maryvale A)

05 Jul 19
1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Tracks: Foundation, LDW

The Mensa Foundation was founded to assist Mensa in its purpose of identifying and fostering human intelligence, encouraging research in human inte... More...

M Parents of Babies: Pool Party (Room Pool)

05 Jul 19
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet, Other

Speaker(s): Billie Lee
Parents with their kids under 4 are invited to chill out by the hotel pool. More...

70+ Years After Roswell, What “Really” Happened? (Room Camelback)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): James McGaha USAF (Ret.), MA, MS, FRAS
The Roswell UFO Incident made news headlines for a few days in 1947 and then disappeared for 31 years. When it reemerged in 1978, it would become t... More...

Atheist Meeting (Room Alhambra)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet

Speaker(s): Ed You
Attention atheists, agnostics, humanists, etc., or anyone who just “doesn’t identify with any religion,” come to our Meet-and-Greet. We discuss, st... More...

Being Assertive in Dealing with Problem Members (Room Maryvale A)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: LDW

Speaker(s): Jon Gruebele
High IQ doesn’t always correlate with awesome social skills. What’s an event host to do when someone does something they shouldn’t? When behaviors ... More...

Dominion Tournament (Room Ahwataukee)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Tournament

Speaker(s): Robert Goldsmith Ph.D.
This is the original and very popular deck-building game. The tournament will be played in three rounds. Round 1 will use kingdom cards from the ba... More...

Finance Committee Meeting (Room Coronado)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Mensa

Speaker(s): Taz Criss
National committee meeting More...

Five Benefits of Being a “Highly Intelligent Misfit” (Room Paradise Valley)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Otto Siegel MCC, M.Ed
Highly intelligent and sensitive people around the world are natural outliers — they just don’t fit the bell curve of the general popul... More...

Lessons from the Holocaust, Respect and Tolerance in Our World Today (Room Encanto B)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Oskar Knoblauch
I was born in Leipzig, Germany. As a young boy I experienced the rise of Nazism and the ensuing European Holocaust of Word War ll. I will speak to ... More...

National Ombudsman Meet-and-Greet (Room Laveen A)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet

Speaker(s): Bud Klueck
Disputes between human beings are inevitable. American Mensa has a nationwide program to resolve disputes when they arise. The program includes omb... More...

SIG Coordinators Meet-and-Greet (Room North Mountain)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet, SIG

Speaker(s): Nancy Farrar
Come and meet with other SIG Coordinators and the National SIGs Officer to exchange experiences and ideas. More...

Surviving Jonestown: Resiliency of the Human Spirit — Follow No One (Room Encanto A)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Leslie Wagner-Wilson
Nov. 18, 2019, marked the 40th memorial of the infamous Jonestown, Guyana, suicide/massacre led by Jim Jones. Leslie Wagner-Wilson was 13 years old... More...

Weather, Climate, and Climate Change: Natural Variability and Anthropogenic Forcing (Room Deer Valley)

05 Jul 19
3:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Joseph Zehnder Ph.D.
The debate as to whether variability of the Earth’s climate and the seeming trend toward increased severity and frequency of extreme events is part... More...

21 Days in Iran (Room Paradise Valley)

05 Jul 19
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Sassan Afshin
Iran is in the headlines on a daily basis. President George W. Bush called it part of “The Axis of Evil." What do we really know about Iran and its... More...

By the Time They Came to Phoenix: African American Pioneers of Arizona (Room Encanto B)

05 Jul 19
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Akua Anokye Ph.D.
This collection of oral histories, inspired by the ASU West Black History Month gala honoring an African American Pioneer in Arizona, chronicles no... More...

Friends of Bill W (Room Alhambra)

05 Jul 19
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet

For Mensans and guests who are actively practicing any 12-step program. This is a non-hosted, informal program, not for observers or the curious, p... More...

Songwriting SIG Meet-and-Greet (Room North Mountain)

05 Jul 19
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet, SIG

Speaker(s): Penelope Salinger
We’ll hold a song circle, giving each person a chance to present an original song. If we have more time, we will go around the circle again. Listen... More...

The "Price" of Fear and The Legacy of Love (Room Encanto A)

05 Jul 19
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Victoria Price
In this intimate and insightful talk about Vincent Price — the actor known as the King of Horror — Victoria Price, his daughter and bio... More...

The High Price of Big Oil — Maimed Workers, Fracking, Cancer Clusters, and More (Room Deer Valley)

05 Jul 19
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Justin Williams
The oil and gas industry is credited as a powerful U.S. economic driver, but behind the industry’s big money PR machine are some dark and dea... More...

The Wisdom of Wolfkiller: A Nineteenth Century Navajo Shepherd and Sage (Room Camelback)

05 Jul 19
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Harvey Leake
A remarkable story came to light about a Navajo boy named Wolfkiller who, in the 1860s, was taught by his grandfather and mother to follow the “pat... More...

Unwind Your Stress and Start Enjoying Your Life Again! (Room Maryvale A)

05 Jul 19
4:30 PM - 5:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Kebba Buckley Button
To most, stress seems everywhere present and unavoidable. People get exhausted from being “stressed out.” They have trouble focusing or performing ... More...

A City Without a Face: Paris, 1940-1944 (Room Encanto B)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Jeanne Ojala
The German occupation of Paris lasted for almost four years. As German officials, bureaucrats, and soldiers settled into the city, Parisians reacte... More...

Everything You Wanted to Know About Medical Cannabis but Were Afraid to Ask (Room Deer Valley)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Joy Summers N.M.D.
A fun and informative look at how cannabis works in the body, its medical applications, the latest research, and the future of medical cannabis. Fo... More...

How I Learned to Think — by Observing the Biggest Obliviots Around (Room Paradise Valley)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Randy Cassingham
In 25 years of writing “This is True,” the oldest entertainment feature on the internet, Randy Cassingham has realized he has been studying the dum... More...

L’ChaiM! SIG Meet-and-Greet (Room North Mountain)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet, SIG

Speaker(s): Rick Magnus
We’ll gather to socialize and hold a short participatory service to welcome the Sabbath. Bring your own yarmulke if you want one. Observers a... More...

Music Room (Room Laveen A)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 11:59 PM

Tracks: Other

Speaker(s): Alan Stillson
This AG interactive singing event will be taking place once more. We’ll gather hootenanny style and sing songs worth singing many years after... More...

Taroky Tournament (Room Ahwataukee)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 8:45 PM

Tracks: Tournament

Speaker(s): Susan Hawthorne
Learn the world’s best trump, trick-taking game. It uses a special deck with a fifth suit that is Roman numerals and is trump. Partners change ever... More...

The Occasion Party™ (Room M-Hoser Suite - 531)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 11:59 PM

Tracks: SIG

We all have something in our closets and drawers that we love but have never had the occasion to wear. Until now. The Occasion Party is the occasio... More...

Things No One Told You About Space Exploration. There Have Been Challenges That Have Never Been Published. (Room Camelback)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Donald Shepperd USAF (Ret.) ; Robert Breault
Dr. Bob Breault, Ph.D., looks like a normal person. He is not. Bob started out as a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. He left the Air Force and aft... More...

Wine and Sacramental Spirituality (Room Encanto A)

05 Jul 19
6:00 PM - 7:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): V. R. Marianne Zahn M.Div.
Using the lens of Christian (Anglican) practice, we will consider the enjoyment of wine as a form of embodied spirituality. The experience of drink... More...

Gala Dinner with Adam Savage (Room Valley of the Sun)

05 Jul 19
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM

Tracks: Entertainment, Meal

Adam Savage has spent his life gathering skills that allow him to take what’s in his brain and make it real. He’s built everything from ancient Bud... More...

DeOldify: Colorful Lessons in Deep Learning (Room Deer Valley)

05 Jul 19
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Dana Kelley ; Jason Antic
In our talk, we plan to discuss DeOldify — state-of-the-art software that colorizes and restores old photos using deep learning, in a ph... More...

Game Theory 101 (Room Encanto A)

05 Jul 19
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Marcelo Guerra Hahn
In this presentation, we will run some experiments (aka, play some games) that illustrate the motivation for game theory. After each round, we will... More...

The Phoenix and The Turtle — A Look at Shakespeare’s Most Minor Poem (Room Paradise Valley)

05 Jul 19
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Heidi Tarquin Van der Veer
1. Let the bird of loudest lay, On the sole Arabian tree, Herald sad and trumpet be, To whose sound chaste wings obey. 2. But thou, shrieking harbi... More...

The Werewolves of the Phoenix AG (Room 3rd Street Foyer)

05 Jul 19
7:30 PM - 11:59 PM

Tracks: Games

By night, werewolves kill off villagers. By day, enraged villagers kill off suspected werewolves. (But sometimes they mistakenly kill off "inn... More...

BDSMensan Meet-and-Greet (Room Alhambra)

05 Jul 19
9:00 PM - 10:45 PM

Tracks: Meet and Greet

Speaker(s): Boss and NaughtyBaby
A meeting for people who enjoy the BDSM and kink lifestyle. This gathering is for those into or curious, who wish to know other Ms in the lifestyle... More...

Boggle Tournament (Room Ahwataukee)

05 Jul 19
9:00 PM - 10:15 PM

Tracks: Tournament

Speaker(s): Michelle Stockton
Find as many connected words as possible. When the timer runs out, you get points only for the words nobody else at your table found. No experience... More...

CANCELLED: Comedy Hypnosis Show (Room Encanto A)

05 Jul 19
9:00 PM - 10:15 PM

Tracks: Speaker

Speaker(s): Terry Parrett
Terry is a comedy stage hypnotist who performs at casinos around the U.S. During his show, EnTRANCED: The Hypno-Reality Show, hypnotized audience v... More...

Gen Y Theme Night: Blackout Toga (Room Gen Y Suite - 444)

05 Jul 19
10:00 PM - 11:59 PM

Tracks: SIG

Take a bedsheet and drape yourself in the fine silks of a deity. Party the night away in honor of Bacchus, under the blacklights! Bonus activity: B... More...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bracket (Room HELL's M's Suite - 432)

05 Jul 19
10:30 PM - 11:45 PM

Tracks: SIG

It’s an emergency — no time for baking and you have to (gasp!) just pick up cookies at the store. Which store bought ones are best? We&... More...

SIGs at Midnight (Room Overlook Foyer)

05 Jul 19
11:55 PM - 11:59 PM

Tracks: SIG

Join the SIGs on the 4th floor for a games activity. Adults only. More...