MAINESCENE. ~ The 2 nd Best Fun & Games Mini RG EVAH! ~ June 2, 3, 4, 2017 Clarion Hotel, Portland

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1 MAINESCENE The Newsletter of Maine Mensa Volume 8, Issue 2 Spring 2017 ~ The 2 nd Best Fun & Games Mini RG EVAH! ~ June 2, 3, 4, 2017 Clarion Hotel, Portland Region 1 ALL Maine Mensa members will get the EARLY BIRD special! $40 for the weekend and $20 for Saturday only. We want Maine Mensans to attend. There is no better way to get acquainted with your fellow state Mensans (AND of course Mensans from other states) and maybe build connections maybe find a new friend or linked-in connection or even a potentially intimate relationship. Or how about volunteering?! Contact Anne Allen, the Registrar, at durhamme@yahoo.com or (207) You will get to meet our Loc Sec (Anne) and other state officers and maybe even talk about what is going on in your neck of the woods. Maybe you will find out more what your Mensa membership can do for you, and if you have never met most of who will be attendees, what you have been missing. Remember that Mensa is a social club. There will be all kinds of games, including Mensa Select games, and games instructors; food and hospitality; and Saturday evening, Brain Busting Trivia with Caleb and Joe in the hotel restaurant. You will also get to experience life in the hub of Portland, with so many top grade restaurants and attractions close by. Fill out the registration form, at the end of this newsletter! Newsletter 1

2 Executive Committee LocSec Anne W. Allen (207) Asst LocSec & Sight Coordinator Susan Flaherty (207) Treasurer Gerald Nessmann (207) Publications & Editor Robert S. Lagos (207) Program Chair Jim Sloan (207) At Large & Membership Coordinator Leona Prodouz (207) Ombudsman Kat Masters (207) Region 1 RVC Lisa Maxwell (617) RVC1@us.mensa.org Later in the year: What is planned after the RG Boat ride in Kezar Lake (David Conary) July 16 Picnic in Limington (Asherah Cinnamon) late August Pool party in Portland (Sue Flaherty) in July or August Halloween event (Leona Prodouz) weekend after Halloween Culture Quest Sunday April 30, 2017 at 4:00 pm (register soon!!) Culture Quest is a timed trivia, taking place all over the globe-at exactly the same time. Mensan teams gather in their neighborhoods across the U.S. and Canada and compete for cash prizes or just for bragging rights. For 90 minutes, your team will answer questions ranging from film to politics, from literature to geography, from music to history, math and science, and farther afield. You just need a time commitment, 4pm to 6pm Sunday April 30. This is a National Mensa Event YOU can participate in! The more diversity in the team, the greater the chance of knowing the answers. Everyone contributes. There can be up to 5 members on each team and 2 alternates. It can be played with a team of 2 or 3. Maine Mensa pays for the registration Fee for the Team ($50.00 each team). You may need to travel to the nearest location, but if you have 3 or 4 others near to you - bonus! Last year we had 4 Teams in Maine - Bangor, Ellsworth, and 2 in Portland. Interested? Need more info? Read up on the Mensa Website under ATTEND. or call Anne Allen, wilsnanni@yahoo.com / MUST BE REGISTERED FOR A TEAM AND MUST BE A PAID MEMBER AS OF MARCH 30, 2017 From the RVC Region 1 Roundup March-April 2017 News from National: It is election time once again. American Mensa conducts its election of officers for the American Mensa Committee (the board of directors): Chair, First Vice-Chair, Second Vice-Chair, up to 10 Regional Vice-Chairs, the Secretary and Treasurer. Newsletter 2

3 (continued next page) From the RVC (continued) Voting begins on April 15, 2017, and extends through midnight, Central time, on May 31. American Mensa members who are current as of April 1, 2017, are eligible to vote. Those members will receive election notifications and ballots via and will cast ballots online. (Members should verify that the address on file is current.) Members without an address on file will receive a paper ballot in the mail. If you have an address but need to receive election materials by mail instead, review your election material preferences, checking the option to receive those materials in print. Eligible American Mensa members may also participate in the Mensa International election, whose voting period is April 15 - May 15, For more information: Please take the time to review all of the candidate's statements and bios, and participate in the election process - make your voice heard - vote! A national community service day Looking for a way to get involved and make a difference? Participate in Mensa Cares! In April. How To Pitch In Around the Region (and beyond): As I write this month's column, I am sitting in the hospitality suite at the Snowball RG hosted by Central New Jersey Mensa. It is 7:00am - I'm tired, a bit hung over and so very happy to have the opportunity to spend some time with 200+ other Mensans. This is my other family, a place where I can be myself and just enjoy life. Why aren't you here? Join Boston Mensa on beautiful Cape Cod for a relaxing, unstructured weekend of socializing and hospitality with old friends and new. Visit Provincetown, enjoy great seafood, go whale watching, antiquing, bicycling, or just sit back and listen to the ocean. Play games while overlooking the sea. Enjoy drinks on an oceanfront deck. A great RG for first-timers! For info or to register: MAINE mini-rg June 2-4, 2017 The 2nd Best <Fun & Games> mini RG EVAH! Massive Games Room, Light Hospitality, Learn even more games with more games hosts than evah! For more info: Anne Allen, or wilsnanni@yahoo.com Did you know? As a member of Mensa, you have many available benefits - attend local (any chapter, not just yours), regional, national or international events, participate in SIGS (Special Interest Groups), the SIGHT program (Service of Information, Guidance and Hospitality to Travelers), or volunteer to host an event, help run your chapter, do committee work. Mensa is what you make of it. Get involved today! This month's question for you What is the most unique Mensa event you've attended? Lisa Maxwell RVC1@us.mensa.org Just a reminder Upcoming Region 1 events: A Whale Of A Good Time! May 12-14, 2017 Newsletter 3

4 A find: 33 Elmwood, Westbrook, Maine by Robert S. Lagos On Wednesday, we gathered for a Mensa Happy Hour at 33 Elmwood in Westbrook. It is located in a very woodsy part of Westbrook. Anne, Sue, Kat, Jim, Karen, Melina, and myself participated, and we were later joined by Lisa Maxwell. I was particularly impressed with the friendliness of the staff. They let all of us enjoy the Happy Hour special even though many of us arrived after 6 pm, which is when it is supposed to end. I had a Korean BBQ meatball special, along with a Bud Light and the Dude, a liquor made with coffee and chocolate, which also has nuggets of mixtures of those in the drink. Jim and Kat had a marinara mozzarella meatball plate. Anne and Sue had a Maine Oyster plate and Fried Brussels (brussel sprouts). Sue also had the Dude. For dessert, we shared a mudslide cheesecake and chocolate laced Cannoli. There were bocce lanes, but we did not play (I wish we had); I kept noticing, on the wall furthest from where we were sitting, across the candlepin lanes undergoing renovation, hanging doors with artsy looking numbers of different fonts and styles, numbered sequentially from 1 to about 23 (with a couple of skips). In all, a very funky, artsy, but comfortable ambience, in a very out of the way place; it is something I can say is a little more out of the ordinary than your usual out of the ordinary! It is a place I would really like to try again, and maybe next time also making it a bocce event! Word Scramble!!! By Robert S. Lagos Unscramble the words or phrases below! Hint: they all pertain to things you will find at the Maine Mini RG and a couple of other important events coming up this season! Rohclla Ontei Irng MI tgacs uoreminsrt piosithyalt Enju eolvunster Dontparl Samna Enemi Nasyud Elbac Lequect Sutru decten boss have revomeer et tomb Eximo Tadsuayr Gabti Ruvsint Ribina for shebakatt ang das fumen Yrifda othem loro Garrerist Newsletter 4

5 C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S S P R I N G MONTHLY TRIVIA NIGHTS: Trivia at Chicago Dogs Chicago Dogs, 671 Main Street South Portland THIRD WEDNESDAY of the month at 7 pm. This is the super great Brain Busting Trivia with Joe (or Caleb). Very good worthy trivia. (They are offering it at our mini-rg in June in Portland, you know!) Lots of great hot dogs and sides, beer, and with the start time of 7pm you get out pretty early for a work night! Contact: Anne Allen (207) OTHER MONTHLY EVENTS: Downeast Maine Mensa Dine-Arounds Fourth Thursday of Every Month, 6:00-8:00 PM Inquire for details; restaurants in the Ellsworth area which will vary in food, ambience, and price. Contact Steve Weinreich and Linda Hayward at swinv.sw@gmail.com to be placed on list. Mensa Movie Super Tuesday Second Tuesday of the Month, $5 admission. Nickelodeon, Monument Square, Portland Contact: Jim Sloan, (207) , jxsloan@hotmail.com. M & I Dinner 2016 Mensa, Intertel and I.S.P.E. Dinner Great (Oriental) Buffet, 4 th Fridays of the Month Newington, NH RSVP Host Walter Wakefield (603) OTHER LOCAL EVENTS: Monday Mahjongg Diversions Game Store, South Portland, 6pm to 9pm. To get on the list to be included when we are going to play here, contact Anne: wilsnanni@yahoo.com. This will not be a set Monday every month, just when we feel the need for some game play. You can come to learn, watch, or play Mahjongg - or play any of the games that Diversions has to offer. CALENDAR OF EVENTS (CONTINUED) OTHER LOCAL EVENTS (continued): The 2 nd Best Fun & Games Mini RG EVAH! June 2, 3, 4, 2017 Clarion Hotel, Portland This will include gaming, hospitality, and Brain Busting Trivia with Caleb and Joe! Early adult registration $40 for the weekend. Contact Anne Allen for more info. Kezar Lake Sunday July 16 th Boat Ride and Lunch - 11 am on 219 West Lovell Road Lovell, ME A fun day will be had by the lake and on the lake! We will have lunch at the Loon's Nest Restaurant and David will take us on a boat ride on Lake Kezar. Contact information: David A. Conary, thedavid3127@gmail.com, (207) ; NEW ENGLAND / NATIONAL MENSA EVENTS: Mind Games Hilton-Dulles Hotel, Washington, D.C., April Details: Cape Cod Mini-RG: A Whale of a Good Time Provincetown, MA, May Details: Mensa Annual Gathering Diplomat Beach Resort, Hollywood, Florida, July 5-9 Details: ***************************************** Next Quarterly ExComm Meeting: Sunday June 11, 1:00 pm Governor s Restaurant in Waterville, Maine ***************************************** AREA COORDINATORS MID-MAINE (Lewiston/Brunswick) Anne Allen wilsnanni@yahoo.com (207) Susan Flaherty suejflaherty@gmail.com (207) GREATER PORTLAND BANGOR & SOUTHERN MAINE Vacant Newsletter 5

6 Some Maine Mensa Events, Fall-Winter Games Night at Kat s, Jan. 21, Portland Happy Hour, 33 Elmwood, March 8, Westbrook (We had funky food, ambience, and booze!) Newsletter 6

7 Solutions to word scramble: Clarion Hotel Mini RG games instructor hospitality June volunteers Portland Maine Mensa Sunday Caleb Culture Quest second best evah remember to vote Moxie Saturday Brain Busting Trivia hot breakfast fun and games Friday hotel room Registrar HARLEY BLIFFEL S HOUSE OF PUZZLES by Steve Weinreich from last month: Copyright by Steve Weinreich 2017 My participation at the New Hampshire RG By Rob Lagos In addition to my annual attendance at the RG, I had the opportunity, this year, to give a presentation, along with two other friendcolleagues, Wilma Wake and Eric Endlich, featuring a study we are doing on adults over 50 years of age on the autism spectrum: Baby-Boomer and earlier generations. The findings will be published in a forthcoming book for which Wilma was awarded a contract. I am responsible for the IT stuff: setting the survey up on the website, and doing the statistical analysis. Wilma has been writing and designing the book. Eric has been providing perspectives as a psychologist in private practice in Massachusetts. It was a small room, but the event was well attended. Wilma and I co-lead the Asperger Adult group which meets once a month in Portland, Maine. I have been a facilitator of it for the last 10 years. All three of us, in fact, are among the respondents, having taken the survey ourselves! I have done at least a couple of talks in the past at the New Hampshire RG on high-functioning autism and it seems to generate a high interest among Mensans. Articles and Letters to MaineScene If you have an article, story, biography, or anecdote you would like published, and particularly, which may be of local interest, feel free to send me your article, at robertslagos@gmail.com. And if you wish to send a letter to MaineScene, I would be interested, in particular, what you think you are getting out of your local membership (critical OR praising preferably relevant to the local scene. I will encourage replies from readers and if I see fit, I will make an editor s reply. My contact information above. I will also be happy to facilitate connecting you to other Mensans in your area in Maine, which may be helpful if you would like to start an event, or if you are a first-timer (or not such a newbie) who wants to meet others or find out who else is in your area. Newsletter 7

8 Maine Mensa Ex-Comm Meeting, Sunday, March 12, 2017 Type of meeting: Executive Committee Meeting The meeting was held at China Taste, 242 Main St., Yarmouth, Maine. Officers present: Anne Allen (LocSec); Sue Flaherty (Assistant LocSec); Robert S. Lagos (Editor and Publications Officer); Jim Sloan (Program Chair); Leona Prodouz (At Large and Membership Coordinator); Kathryn Masters (Ombudsman). Also present: Chance Stevens-Griffeth, Scholarship Chair. Officers not present: Gerald Nessman (Treasurer). Minutes recorded by Rob Lagos The meeting was called to order at 4:00 pm. Old Business. Minutes of last Meeting: The minutes to the last meeting of December 11, 2016 were approved. Scholarship: (Chance) There were 8 judges, and 33 essays to judge. 14 went to the next round. Gerald has indicated that if we continue to fund a $600 scholarship we will likely lose money over time in the treasury. So, this scholarship will be subject to annual approval for each following year. We will vote on next year s funding on our next Ex-Comm meeting in June. Testing - Proctorship: (Anne) Anne will follow up on another proctor hopeful, Jason House, who lives in Presque Isle. There has been no follow-through from Brandon on submitting the required paper-work for the proctorship, so Anne has decided to abandon pursuing him and will notify him of this decision and to ask for return of materials. Previous events for stipend (Robert): Robert brought a list of previous events for which host may be eligible to receive the $20 stipend. Anne will communicate with Robert about which events have already been submitted for a stipend. Treasurer report: (Anne on behalf of Gerald): The funds in the treasury have held steady at about $6K. New Business. Culture Quest: (Anne): Sunday April 30, 4pm. Anne will administer it there were no other volunteers. Upcoming Summer Events Planned: * Boat ride in Kezar Lake (David Conary) will be on July 16. * Picnic in Limington (Asherah Cinnamon) will be in late August date TBD. * Sue Flaherty will again host a pool party in July or August. * Jim Sloan will talk to Crystal and Johnnie about another brunch. * Leona plans another Halloween gathering this year it may be after Halloween which is on Tuesday. * One of our members expressed interest in hosting a summer gathering at his place in Blanchard Maine. Since it is in a fairly remote area (2 ½ hour drive from Portland) we want to find out who would attend, to publish it. Maine Mini RG, June 2: * 7 are registered. New attendees are Deb Stone and Lisa Maxwell. * A motion was made to give Early Bird special price to all Maine Mensans for the RG. The motion carried. * Hospitality/Chat room: this year we will have the room closest to the elevator on the first floor instead of the Hospitality Room upstairs that we had last year. * Chairs/duties: Anne is the Registrar. Sue and Anne will share the duties of registration at the RG. Others present volunteered to share in doing registration table shifts. We will schedule hours for people. * Game instructors: we will continue to use non-mensans for game teaching. * Logo cups: we talked about providing logo cups (similar to previous events such as the ones we offered last year from the 2012AG), personalized by labeling using colored sticky labels - members write their name with markers. We will obtain pricing information from Mensa Store for the insulated cups with logo and decide if it is worth the price. We may obtain outside pricing information as well. We will not do T-shirts this year. There was also talk about incorporating tiaras into the design of the logos. * Testing: we talked about also having testing. Robert suggested using the Hospitality Room for this. * Saturday night trivia: Start-time of Saturday 8:00pm was voted on. * RG Committee meetings and gatherings will be set up outside of the Ex-Comm to finalize actions. Kat volunteered to chair hospitality and Sue volunteered to assist Kat. Further communication among members present will be via . Next Ex-Comm meeting: June 11. Location and time TBA. 5:04pm: Meeting was adjourned. Newsletter 8

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10 Acknowledgement: Maine Mensa Phone (207) I wish to, once again, express gratitude to Gerald Nessmann and the Austin Law Offices of Dexter, Maine, for the fine quality hard-copy preparation, printing, and distribution. Mensa is an international organization of people with an IQ at or above the 98th percentile. Mensa provides a forum for intellectual exchange among members. Its activities include the exchange of ideas by lectures, discussions, journals, special-interest groups, and local, regional, national, and international gatherings. Mensa does not hold any opinions, or have, or express, any political or religious views. Opinions expressed herein are those of the individual contributors and of the editor and not of American Mensa Ltd or of Maine Mensa. For more information go to the web site: The MaineScene is a free publication for members of Maine Mensa #01/040. Maine Mensa on the Web Visit our web pages, and drop us a line! Regional page: region1.us.mensa.org Maine Mensa page: Facebook: / National Web Site: Newsletter 10