Session 10: May 2014
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Saturday
3 May
2014 -
Write to Relax
Deep breathing and Xanax have their charms, but neither is what anyone would call “creative.”
user Instructor: Patrice Carolyn Forrester
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Sunday
4 May -
Live Deliberately: Be Happier, Healthier, and More Productive
Henry David Thoreau went to the woods to live deliberately; you can just take this class.
user Instructor: Greg Faxon
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Lesser-Known D.C. Monuments, Memorials, and Landmarks
Hop on your bike and visit worthy yet undervalued sites like the Japanese American Memorial and the Titanic Memorial. Wait … what?
user Instructor: Anastasia Kolobrodova
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Monday
5 May -
The Arabic You Think You Know
Reading a word in the newspaper or hearing it on NPR doesn’t mean you understand its nuances or cultural connotations.
user Instructor: Virginia Vassar
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Corporate Social Responsibility: Fact or Fiction?
Why does BP fund renewable energy research? What’s up with McDonald’s running a children’s health charity? Do corporations actually care or do they just pretend to?
user Instructor: Halley Aelion
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Tuesday
6 May -
Small-Scale Urban Composting
Composting is easy and, even in a tiny space, good composting practices can produce amazing dirt!
user Instructor: Vickie North
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Thursday
8 May -
Cymraeg Cyntaf (Beginning Welsh)
Knowing even a little of this complex Celtic tongue will impress speakers of boring old Germanic and Romance languages.
user Instructor: Adam Roush
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Social Media 101
MT, RT, HT, OMG!!! #makeitstop. Social media can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. So get initiated.
user Instructor: Tulani Elisa
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Friday
9 May -
Intro to American Whiskey
Explore one of America’s oldest drinking traditions. And by “explore,” we mean “imbibe.” And by “imbibe,” we mean “sip small amounts of,” not “get hammered.”
user Instructor: Laura Karr
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Saturday
10 May -
Make a Camera Obscura
Learn what happens inside a camera by making one big enough that you can put your head inside.
user Instructor: Diana Sanchez
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Gateway Arts District Walking Tour
Get to know one of Maryland’s most-charming centers of arts and culture, just 20 minutes outside D.C.
user Instructor: Jason Barnett
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Paint With Your Food
Black beans: magical fruit, staple of Latin American cuisine, food you can make pretty dyes out of.
user Instructor: Mei Mei Chang
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The Salem Witch Trials: Madness in Massachusetts
“The Crucible” is NOT a reliable source. Learn what really happened during this American atrocity.
user Instructor: Dan Howlett
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Gateway Arts District Walking Tour II
Get to know one of Maryland’s most-charming centers of arts and culture, just 20 minutes outside D.C.
user Instructor: Jim Polley
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Sunday
11 May -
Group Meditation
Join like-minded KCDCers and meditate as one.
user Instructor: Dawn Quintanilla
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Knotty by Nature: Sailing for Beginners
Sick of high gas prices? It could be time to convert to wind power! Learn how in this out-on-the-water class.
user Instructors: Amanda Leslie, Sarah Meharg
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Deck Out Your Apartment Without Stepping Foot in IKEA
Be the envy of all your peers with a home full of unique, inexpensive, second-hand finds.
user Instructor: Holley Simmons
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“Deliver Me From Nowhere”: Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska”
The haunting 1982 album marked a dark, strange moment in Springsteen’s career. Explore this challenging work with a devoted student of The Boss.
user Instructor: John Rigby
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Monday
12 May -
Mass Incarceration in America
This class will examine our society’s use of the criminal “justice” system as a mechanism for producing mass suffering and prisons as a mechanism of control over certain populations.
user Instructor: Alec Karakatsanis
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Anatomy of a Website
Learn the inner workings of a website and how to build your own from a self-taught programming guru. Laptops not necessary.
user Instructor: Robert Thomas
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Bitcoin for Beginners
So, this Bitcoin thing: What is it? Is it all black market-y? Is it safe to use? And, most importantly, can you buy a pizza with it?
user Instructor: Darrell Duane
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Tuesday
13 May -
Medical Spanish
Are you a medical professional yearning to communicate better with your Spanish-speaking patients? Guess which KCDC class is for you.
user Instructor: Katherine Dean
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Present Like You: Fundamentals of Powerful, Authentic Speaking
“Just be yourself.” You might be sick of hearing that old adage, but listen up: It works for public speaking.
user Instructor: Amy Warren
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Wednesday
14 May -
Collage: Beyond Craft
Scrapbookers/teenagers/first-graders love sticking stuff to other stuff, but so do legit artists.
user Instructor: Jordana Merran
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Basketweaving From Scratch With Scraps
Got random stuff? Can you cut it into strips? Then you can weave with it!
user Instructor: Juliana Rincon
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Thursday
15 May -
Cancelled
CANCELLED: How to Start a Farm
Cityfolk who pooled their funds and actually bought a farm will tell you how to do the same.
user Instructor: Evan Papp
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Simple Online Security Tips
You don’t have to be a hardcore hacker to keep your digital privacy intact.
user Instructor: Patrick Lucey
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An Introduction to French Comics
You’ve heard about American and Japanese comics — come learn about the world’s third major comic culture.
user Instructor: RM Rhodes
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How to Buy Your First Home With No Money Down
If you feel like you’re throwing money away on rent, there’s another option …
user Instructor: Brian Willingham
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Saturday
17 May -
Liquid Assets Bike Tour: Lost Streams and the Evolving City
Bicycle through the hidden industrial heart of D.C. in search of lost neighborhoods, forgotten factories, and municipal works.
user Instructor: David Ramos
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More Than a Purple Sputtering Glow: Streetlights and City Planning in D.C.
On this bike tour, you’ll find out what ordinary objects like streetlights can teach us about the city’s history, policies, and politics.
user Instructor: Jue Yang
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Sunday
18 May -
Your Slice of the Action: Cake Decorating for Beginners
Blank sugary canvases await your imagination: Learn to create unique icing concepts for any cake-worthy occasion.
user Instructor: Amy Saltzman
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Java Programming: The Basics
Learn more about how software works by writing your first programs in Java. Bring a laptop if you can. Red staplers are optional.
user Instructor: Joe Kaperst
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Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Natural: DIY Beauty Products
Make your own skin care stuff out of ingredients whose names you can actually pronounce.
user Instructor: Caryn Cochran
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Monday
19 May -
The Science of Creativity: Part Three
Are Nobel Prize-worthy ideas born of sudden inspiration or rigorous process? The co-founder of ThirstDC discusses the surprising science behind innovation and imagination.
user Instructor: Eric Schulze
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Who Runs the World? Beyonce’s Feminist Theory
Is Mrs. Carter a paragon of girl power, even though she named her tour “The Mrs. Carter Show”? This class says “yes.”
user Instructor: Erica Zimmerman
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Open Master’s Crash Course
Design your own higher education degree program — for free.
user Instructor: Alan Webb
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Tuesday
20 May -
Easy Vegan Cooking With Brainfood
Join the D.C. non-profit Brainfood to bake and (and summarily devour) an easy dish with no meat, eggs, or dairy products.
user Instructor: Brainfood Community MVPs
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Tenants’ Rights in D.C.
Your landlords may be super-flaky and greedy, but are they also breaking the law?
user Instructors: Daniel Hornal, Marc Borbely
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Anyone Can Make Comics
Learn the basics of drawing and self-publishing your own print comic books. No experience required!
user Instructor: Josh Kramer
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Wednesday
21 May -
Anatomy of a Website
Learn the inner workings of a website and how to build your own from a self-taught programming guru. Laptops not necessary.
user Instructor: Robert Thomas
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Music Theory: A Crash Course
Your favorite song will mean so much more when you understand its underlying structure.
user Instructor: David Klinger
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Thursday
22 May -
How to Start a Farm
Cityfolk who pooled their funds and actually bought a farm will tell you how to do the same.
user Instructor: Evan Papp
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British Television Appreciation
Mine this rich vein of quality comedy and drama, crap reality shows, lurid documentaries, quiz shows, and snooker.
user Instructors: Holly J. Morris, Lindsey Darrah
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Saturday
24 May -
Store-Bought to Sublime: Upgrading Floral Arrangements
Transform a humble grocery-store bouquet into your own custom creation.
user Instructor: Lisa Derx
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Sunday
25 May -
I Want to Ride My Bicycle!
This basic course is for both bike newbies and commuters who want to improve their experience.
user Instructor: Tiffany Joslin
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Tuesday
27 May -
Prisons, Profit, and Human Beings
This follow-up to KCDC’s popular Mass Incarceration in America class delves deeper into the criminal “justice” system by examining profit motives and financial incentives.
user Instructor: Alec Karakatsanis
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Writing With Confidence: How to Master Grammar
People whom ain’t know the difference between a comma and a colon should take this here class, then start writing good.
user Instructor: Amanda Milligan
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Wednesday
28 May -
A Brief Introduction to 3D Printing
It’s not as intimidating as it sounds.
user Instructor: Adam Schaeffer
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Thursday
29 May -
A World Cup Viewers’ Guide for Non-Soccer Junkies
Score the knowledge you need to enjoy the world’s biggest sporting event.
user Instructor: Seth Vertelney
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Planning for Happiness
If you’re happy and you know it, take this class! If you’re unhappy and you know it, take this class!
user Instructor: Samantha Watson
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Conflict Resolution With a Difficult Person
Learn how to deal with that coworker/relative/roommate who pushes all of your buttons at once. And not with a passive-aggressive note. Or arsenic.
user Instructor: Chris Geyer
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How to Read and Discuss Poetry
Scansion. Does the term give you panicky flashbacks to high-school English? Calm down — this user-friendly class makes poetry fun and accessible.
user Instructor: Elijah Mendoza
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Saturday
31 May -
Abandoned Schoolhouses Bike Tour
We all know the D.C. public school system is a mess. Learn about its history through its abandoned infrastructure.
user Instructor: Elena Goukassian
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Food and Culture at the Museum
Tour the exhibit “FOOD: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000” at the National Museum of American History with one of the show’s co-curators.
user Instructor: Cory Bernat
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Sunday
1 June -
Cancelled
Planning Your Dream Wedding on a Real-World Budget
“Real World” = the actual real world, not the long-running MTV reality show.
user Instructor: Ilana Nutkis
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Saturday
7 June -
Cancelled
This Isn’t Your Grandma’s Roller Derby!
Especially since your grandma probably didn’t do roller derby. If she did — you go, Gran!
user Instructor: DC Rollergirls