September ChiMe Activ­ity Bulletin Dead­line. Last day for these submissions to the September ChiMe. Interested in organizing and hosting a virtual or in-person event? There’s bound to be an activity or a restaurant you want to try, but you just want some other people to experience it with you. So invite your fellow Mensans. Find out how by visiting our guide to hosting events.

September ChiMe Editorial and Ad­vertising Dead­lines. Last day for editorial submissions to the September ChiMe. Please submit original ar­ticles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, photographs, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.

New Zealand Sunday Seminars: Topic TBA 7 PM (Sunday Noon NZT ). Save the date.
Virtual Event!!

PLAY Again, hosted by Mary Lee K., LongJohn M., and Virginia P. starts today and continues through Monday, August 10th. Last year, in Sharonville, we had space for 40 people. We played games of all kinds for 4½ days and we had a blast! This year, in Mason, Ohio, we have a new hotel with much more space—for 100. So we're letting people know—four days of PLAY! The hotel room rate of $131+tax includes breakfast. Yes, the hotel welcomes pets. Lunch will be provided by Virginia with specialties from LongJohn. Dinner is on your own and there are many places ($ - $$$$) within minutes of the hotel plus the hotel has a really nice restaurant too. We don't know the registration rate yet because the hotel space cost gets spread across the attendees. But it will be no more than $40/day. Email Mary Lee K. if you are interested or have questions.

GOBS Request Deadline Noon. Today is the last day to submit a request for GOBS funds to be approved at this Tuesday’s virtual Business Meeting for any planned, eligible event, activity, or class taking place after Tuesday, August 18th through Tuesday, September 15th and, optionally, later; to be eligible, events involving CAM members must be published in the issue of ChiMe corresponding to the month in which they occur. For CAM events, it’s recommended you submit the GOBS request and get it approved before submitting your event information for publication in ChiMe—so no later than today for events planned for October. October event details need to be submitted by the 1st of September to the activities editor to be included in the October ChiMe. An article must be featured in the October ChiMe for GOBS-subsidized November events with an RSVP deadline in October (1st of September deadline and article emailed to the editor; see editorial deadline).

Best Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing will reach its maximum rate of activity tonight. Some shooting stars associated with the shower are expected to be visible each night during the week before and after. For more information, see the space.com website or see the viewing tips at EarthSky. There are also some amazing photos posted on Flickr.
Public Event!!

FanExpo of Chicago today through Sunday, August 16th at the Donald E. Stephens (DES) Convention Center at 5555 N. River Rd. in Rosemont (accessible via CTA Blue Line). Visit their website for more information. (Check online for discounted tickets on sites like Groupon or LivingSocial.)
Public Event!!

MWW: Nonfiction Book Discussion 4:30 PM CDT. Join us for a lively chat on Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner. We'll compare notes on what resonated, what raised eyebrows, and how we each tackled the read—because a good book gets even better when you talk it through. We generally discuss what we liked about the book or found challenging. We also discuss what we would like more or less of, what format we read the book in, and whether it was a recent read.

Can't make it this month? The next books will be 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation by Andrew Ross Sorkin (September 16) and The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers by Daniel L. Schacter (October 21). See the full write-up and find contact info on the American Mensa Event.
Virtual Event!!

Theodore Talk: Wild Boar to Baconfest: Pigs in History and Culture 2:30 PM. Pigs were the first food animals to be domesticated, so they have a history with humans that goes back more than 12,000 years. Antiquity is only one of the reasons, however, that pork is the most commonly eaten meat in the world. This odd, contradictory animal offers a great range of advantages when it comes to feeding large populations, especially urban populations, though historically, it has also offered several disadvantages. Pork was virtually the only meat available to most of Europe during the Middle Ages, and if you ask for meat in China, you will get pork. From the invention of blood sausage by the Assyrians to creation of such American icons as barbecue and hot dogs, pig has remained on the menu for all but a few notable people groups. Celebrated at fairs and looked to for medical research, pigs offer culinary delight and potential promise but also create some challenges. So the topic of pigs is as far-ranging as the pigs themselves.

Cynthia Clampitt is a writer, speaker, and food historian. She has been writing and talking about food history for more than twenty-five years, and is the author of Pigs, Pork, and Heartland Hogs: From Wild Boar to Baconfest and Midwest Maize: How Corn Shaped the U.S. Heartland. Her most recent book, Destination Heartland: A Guide to Discovering the Midwest's Remarkable Past, is about places to visit Midwestern history. To register, visit the American Mensa Event or, on or after Friday, August 21st, tap/click on the Zoom link that will be available here on our website. Even if you can’t attend the live talk, provided you register, you will receive a link to a recording of the event. Closed captioning enabled.
Virtual Event!!

New Zealand Sunday Seminars: TBA 7 PM (Sunday Noon NZT ). The list of the upcoming seminars and any details can be viewed on their website.
Virtual Event!!

October ChiMe Activ­ity Bulletin Dead­line. Last day for these submissions to the October ChiMe. Interested in organizing and hosting a virtual or in-person event? There’s bound to be an activity or a restaurant you want to try, but you just want some other people to experience it with you. So invite your fellow Mensans. Find out how by visiting our guide to hosting events.

October ChiMe Editorial and Ad­vertising Dead­lines. Last day for editorial submissions to the October ChiMe. Please submit original ar­ticles, insights, puzzles, brain teasers, photographs, or short poems. Your fellow Chicago Area Mensa members would love to hear from you.