Once Kit got to know Residents in our ship community, she created her own a “job” to create and organize a speaker series: getting other Residents to give talks about their expertise, experience, and passions.
It has been wildly successful among the Residents. The ship’s officers have started to take notice, attending some of the talks …and occasionally agreeing to give talks. Ship’s crew are, after all, part of the community.
There are no transcripts other than the somewhat error-prone closed captions created by Youtube. Note that not all talks are recorded.
As of now there is a fair backlog of talks, and this page will expand not only as we go forward, but with fill-in going backward as we produce and upload them.
Format Change Note: Doing a separate page here for every video was slowing down the posting process. Links now go directly to Youtube unless noted. Thoughtful comments are welcome on Youtube (or this site, when there’s an associated article), or both.
2024
- Randy Cassingham: The Only One There — The first talk Randy did for the residents on our ship about his experiences as a medic. 21 Nov (Article Page)
- Dr. Kathryn Jacobs: Marriage in Medieval & Renaissance Europe — What was marriage in medieval times, when there was no laws, no licenses, and few could read or write? 29 Nov
- Andy Garrison: The Diamond of the West Coast of Africa: Namibia — A brief introduction to Namibia’s history, geography, and cultures with comments on its role in world history. 19 Dec
- Kit Cassingham: 3 Elements for Happiness — A Life Coach, Kit discusses three keys that she has found in her work for finding happiness. 22 Dec
- Randy Cassingham: The Cassini Mission to Saturn — While working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Randy watched the Cassini spacecraft being built. 30 Dec (Article Page)
2025
- Dr. Frank Miskevich: Everything You Didn’t Want To Know About Flu — A PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology shares the science behind the flu. 13 Jan
- Darryl Karp: The Kibera Foundation — Darryl’s compassion for orphans took him into Kibera, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya, where he started making a difference in their lives with various educational and welfare programs. 15 Mar
- Captain Zejlko: Moments With The Master — Our ship captain agreed to be interviewed so we could get to know him as a person, more than “just” our Captain. 17 Mar
- Shirene Thomas: Get to Know Nowruz: Persian New Year — A woman of many talents, Shirene shares her Persian background and information about the Persian New Year, Nowruz. 20 Mar
- Laura Lee: Being Open To Something New, Like… Watercolor! — A retired aerospace engineer and lawyer, Laura dropped her mosaic hobby because the materials took up too much space. What next? 24 Mar
- Dr. Steven Saris: Frida Kahlo & Georgia O’Keefe: The People and Their Art — After retiring from his job as a ship’s doctor, Steven picked up art as a hobby. He is as fascinated by these two women as he is their art. 28 Mar
- Dr. David Austin: The History of Anesthesia — A retired anesthesiologist, on National Doctor’s Day (U.S.) David presented information about anesthesia — how it works and its history. 30 Mar
- Kit Cassingham: Coroner Calls: The Care, Science, & Mystery — Being a Coroner is a job most people can’t imagine doing because it seems so hard emotionally. Kit found balance and satisfaction in the work. 31 Mar
- Diane Tetrault: The Magic of Trinidad — While living on a sailboat, Diane needed shelter from hurricanes and took up harbor in the island paradise of Trinidad & Tobago. 2 Apr
- Michael Edwards: Introduction to the Oddyssey Game — a long-time gamer, Michael decided during his extended visit in Belfast as he waited for Odyssey to launch to create a game like those he’d played for so long. 4 Apr
- Meg Stewart, Laurie Boyle, and Lyn Hopeau: Hawaii Calls — Three residents share their love of the islands through history, a blessing in English and translated into Ōlelo Hawaiʻi, and a hula. 18 Apr
- Dr. Basia Kruszewska: Adventures In Birding — Basia has an impressive collection of advanced science degrees and adopted birding as a hobby while she worked in her career. 18 Apr
- Cmdr. Andrew Johnston: Anzac Day: Honouring the Spirit of Sacrifice & Courage — A Commander of the Royal Australian Navy (ret.), Andrew shares the importance and history of ANZAC Day (Australia, New Zealand Army Corps), commemorated on April 25 each year. 24 Apr
- Dr. Kathryn Jacobs: A Life Lived Differently — The Poetry of Autism — Kathryn wrote 6 books during her 32-year career as a professor in New Jersey and Texas. The last, A Life Lived Differently, was co-written with her daughter, Rachel, and explains each of their unique roles in presenting the autistic point of view. 4 May
- Kit Cassingham: The Kids of the Odyssey — We residents have been blessed to have eight young adults living among us. Five of them graced the Speakers Corner stage to talk about their experiences of living on the Odyssey. 8 May
- Calvin Smith: Investing 101: Basics and History — Calvin learned in his various Investment Clubs he’s been a member of through the years that even seasoned investors don’t always understand all the nuances of investing. He designed this talk to educate you on the basics of investing, throwing a bit of history in for good measure. 10 May
- Lauren Meyer: Life Through the Porthole — Lauren has worked on cruise ships for many years and for several cruise lines. She worked her way up from the bottom to the job she held on the Villa Vie Odyssey as Entertainment Director. She tells great stories and has terrific advice for those who want to work on a ship. 12 May (Article Page Coming)
- Dr. Frank Miskevich: A Cellular Guide to Self Defense — Frank brings his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to explain how our immune system fights for us. 17 May
- John, Cindy, Diana, Jim: The Magic of the Hawaiian Islands — One of the resident Hawaiians thought of creating a panel presentation about the highlights of each island, one resident per island. That’s what this video is. 18 May
- Eddie Dorworth: Travel Safety Tips to Protect Your Money — With years of living and traveling abroad, Eddie applies lessons to some unfortunate experiences residents have suffered. His tips are straightforward, clear, and well-explained. 20 May
- Elise & Ivo: Life As A Professional Dancer — Part of the entertainment that’s hired to educate and entertain us, Ivo and Elise have inspired many residents to sign up for dance classes. 22 May
- Captain Val: An Interview With the Master of the Odyssey — Kit asks questions ranging from his family and roots to his training and experiences to what’s on the horizon for the Odyssey and Residential Cruising. 26 May
- Michael Edwards: A Week In The Life Of Live Theater — Michael and his wife Cheri retired early, took up sailing around the east coast of the U.S. Then they dipped their toes into community theater. This talk is about taking on all roles a community theater has to offer. 9 Jun
- Melitta Thorn: Mediumship Explained and Group Trance Healing — Melitta is a Medium and stepped into talk to the residents of the Villa Vie Odyssey about Mediumship vs other modalities. She talks about our four bodies, the different senses that can experience medium energies, and more. 19 Jun
- Kathryn Jacobs: Dana’s Point, or Life in California in the 1830s — The book Two Years Before The Mast, by Richard Henry Dana, inspired Kathryn for this talk after visiting the Maritime Museum in San Diego, California. Dana wrote about his travels in the 1830s as he worked on a sailing ship. Kathryn talks about Dana’s background, and what he went on to make of himself. Jun 24
- Joanne Tawfillis: Healing Hearts With Mural Art — Joanne created a mural on a bullet-torn bedsheet with 350 orphans in Serbia. The healing that came from those children coming together to paint this mural inspired her to make Mural Art her mission and gift to the world. In this talk to the Odyssey residents, she expands on her projects and inspired them to create their own mural, which hangs in the ship today. Jun 27
- Gill Cross: Oscar Wilde, An Irish Legend — Gill has a Master of Arts degree in Victorian literature, art, history, and politics. She uses that background to share with us not only information about Oscar Wilde, but also about the art, politics, and history of the era in which he lived. Jul 3
- Chris Guld: I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake — A long-time adventurer, Chris was a child living in Anchorage during the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Jul 8
- Kevin O’Brien: Progress In Defeating Alsheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias — Kevin has been a long-time fund-raiser for Alzheimer’s research. In this talk, which became as much a group conversation as anything, Kevin addressed some issues and concerns about the disease. Jul 10
- Joey Martino: The Heart of Joey — From college football MVP to Screen Actor Guild member to produced playwright in both NYC & LA, Joey is multi-talented. Somewhere along the way, he started writing poetry. These seven poems are about people in his life who have made a big difference. (More at A life lived Differently) Jul 14
- Steven Saris: The Art of Japan — Steven’s work and passions have taken him from being a doctor to an oil painter. Despite claiming he was pushed into giving this talk about Japanese art, he approached me with the idea of talking about it because he is European-focused in his art studies and wanted to expand his this art. Jul 17
- Chunmo Son: The History of Korea for Dummies in 45 Minutes — How strong is your knowledge of Korean history? Join the Odyssey residents in extending what they knew about Korea before we arrived there. Jul 22
- Charley Brooks: Trip/Slip/Fall Hazards, Part 1 and Trip/Slip/Fall Hazards, Part 2 — Part One of Charley’s talk covers medical terminology, how falls occur, and the kinds of injuries people experience from them. This is a repeat talk inspired by having many new residents aboard. (Jul 24) Part Two covers how to prevent falls and how to minimize injury when you fall. In this talk, he also brings in two other speakers: our Safety Officer and one of our residents who teaches various modalities for healthy movement. (Jul 25)
- Kathryn Jacobs: An Autist Speaks for Himself — Kathryn introduced us to this topic in her May talk (A Life Lived Differently, or The Poetry of Autism). In this popular-demand follow-up, she goes into Autism From The Inside. She uses experience from people she knows, from her own observations, and from what she knows of Temple Grandin. (Jul 28)
- Ric Namikas: Hear, Here — With his Batchelor of Science in Communicative Disorders, and Masters and Doctorate in Audiology, plus 27 years in private practice as an Audiologist, Ric is as much a therapist as audiologist. He talked about the various issues that contribute to miscommunication and hearing issues, and gave us the science of hearing. Jul 29
- John Frim: Motion Sickness — John again shares the science behind biophysical issues we experience (and in some cases, suffer) on the Odyssey. In this talk, he addresses the causes, prevention, and treatment of kinetosis (aka motion sickness). Jul 31
- Kit Cassingham: AI Panel — A panel of 5 residents (Chris Guld, Paul Montoya, Silja Bake, Randy Cassingham, Cindy Atchley) gathered to share their experience and practice with AI. The “products” they create, the tools they use, and ideas they have for their future practices are shared in a short 60-minute discussion and Q&A. Aug 3
- Chris Guld: See Your Travels with Google MyMaps — Chris is a “Google Girl” by her own admission. She works in a variety of Google environments and teaches what she knows with verve. She shines again with that teaching as she shows us another way to document our travels as we sail our way around the world. Aug 5
- John Patterson: Live Life, Leave Life, a Matter of Choice — John’s experience with this topic comes from his years of being the caretaker for his wife. Listen to his story of their choices and decisions as she faced her death. Aug 7
- Brigitte Keane: Laughter Is the Best Medicine — Brigitte has worked with laughter in healing for decades. She shares her thoughts and experiences with Laughter Medicine (Vitamin L?) NOTE: Due to copyright issues, there’s about a 2.5 minute segment that the sound has been cut. It’s a kick to watch either way. 🙂 ) Aug 17
This Page Will Be Expanded as more talks are given, and available recordings can be rendered and uploaded.