Coming up

The Ben Paterson Trio will perform at the Cigar Society's election night cigar party in Hyde Park on Tuesday, Nov 4.

Asad Hayaud Din, Consul (Trade), Consulate of Pakistan, will lead a discussion about Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror.  Tues., Nov 18.

Charles Middleton, President of Roosevelt University, will talk about the economics of higher education.  Tuesday, Dec 9.

Lee Allison, President of the Lee Allison Company, will talk about the history of men's neck wear.

Don Hermann, Professor of Law and Philosophy at DePaul University, will talk about the ethics of torture, in January.

Sam Sisodia, Director of the Center for Molecular Neurobiology at the University of Chicago, will talk about the brain, in February.

Bill Daley, Wine and Food Critic for the Chicago Tribune, will talk about wine and smoke.

Sven Nilsen, Kirkland and Ellis, will talk about strategies in poker.

Visit the Cigar Society archive at logicophilosophicus.org.

Dr. Jorge del Castillo, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Northwestern University and Associate Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Evanston Hospital, will lead a discussion of the Emergency Room.

Events in the University Series include cocktails at 5:30pm, a lecture or reading starting at 6:00 sharp for about thirty minutes, followed by discussion and more cocktails.  Smoking is permitted and encouraged at all times.  Reservations are required.  RSVP to the Secretary, Curtis Tuckey.  $40 inclusive.

Dr. del Castillo writes: "Healthcare in America is the topic du jour and a significant political platform for all those who pretend to care or expound on how they will fix it. Many people these days, both insured and uninsured, turn to the emergency departments for their medical care.  In some situations, it is for the convenience of the consumer or the primary care physician and in others it is just plain necessity.  Emergency departments across the nation are overcrowded with long waits and boarded patients.  Communities suffer less than in major cities but they suffer nonetheless.  Hospital administrators reduce the number of inpatient beds for financial reasons and in some cases because they just cannot staff these beds with nursing personnel.  The breadth of this topic is significant but I will try to explain how to get through the maze of the ER these days and what and when to avoid even going there."

Jorge del Castillo was born in Havana, Cuba and came to the United States immediately after the Castro regime stepped into power in Cuba.  He grew up in New York City and received a degree in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University. Thereafter he came to Chicago where he received his MD from the Chicago Medical School. He did a residency in General Surgery at Michael Reese Hospital and the University of Chicago and thereafter completed his training in Emergency Medicine at Northwestern. He has been on staff at Evanston Hospital since 1979 and is currently the Associate Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine there. He also served as President of the Evanston Hospital Professional staff for two years.  He is the author of many articles and book chapters in the discipline of Emergency Medicine and serves as a Senior Examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine.