Holy Parcheesi, it’s Homecoming Weekend! This, of course, is a time for gratuitous shopping trips, dinner at the most expensive restaurant you can find and trying to avoid explaining all those mysterious charges on your student account bill — it is, in short, a time to bleed dry the people who have loved and nurtured you since childhood. The University, for its part, has packed the next two days with enough activities to kill a small beluga (you know, one of those belugas that attends lectures on the moral certitude of robots), lest your parents pause long enough to remember how much they paid for your last tuition bill. Still, what with all the trips to Target and involved explanations of why your mother’s new hairdo is a “text,” there’s no way we’ll be able to make it to everything. And so, in the interest of streamlining your weekend, we have taken the liberty of picking out what WE think YOU should be doing for the next two days. Please make a note of it.
FRIDAY, OCT. 17
Green Street Arts Center Open House
9 a.m. — 5 p.m., with shuttles leaving from USDAN throughout the day.
Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right from Wrong
4 p.m., Tischler Lecture Hall (Room 150), Exley Science Center
You heard it at The Argus first: robots are taking over the world. (See last week’s “Top 5,” in which we listed robots as the second most-likely cause of the impending apocalypse, after the Rapture but before zombies.) That being the case, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of attending this lecture, delivered by Wendell Wallach ’68, a consultant affiliated with Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics and chair of its Technology and Ethics Research Working Group. Wallach, who co-authored the book for which this lecture is named, will terrify all of us with an in-depth discussion of how robots have been put in control of increasingly important tasks, from making major financial transactions to shooting up Iraq with machine guns. The lecture will also focus on the possibilities for programming machines with moral decision-making capabilities, and, God willing, explore just what drove HAL over the edge. Wallach will hopefully also illuminate the claim made in the lecture description that “soon service robots will be taking care of the elderly in their homes.” Robots: replacing monkey butlers? Go to Exley and find out.
The Legend of Pedro de Urdemalas and Other Latin Folklore
7:30 p.m., Green Street Arts Center, $5-8
Performed by the New Haven Theater Company, this adaptation of folklore from Central and South America makes use of music, dance and puppetry.
Crooked Still
8 p.m., Crowell Concert Hall, $6-22
This acoustic quintet blends cello, double-bass, banjo and fiddle to play a unique brand of folk fusion that requires weird terminology like “alternative bluegrass,” “futuristic four-finger banjo rolls” and “brink of unrecognizability” to describe. Still, after reading two descriptions of the band, we’re still not sure exactly what they do… but it sounds uber-postmodern. Take this quote from their website: “It’s hard to pin down our music,” bass player Corey DiMario says. “We play improvised old time music, bluegrass, folk and our own songs within the broad context of a string band. Like a lot of today’s bands, we have modern and traditional influences that confuse the boundaries. We want to keep blurring those lines to make something all our own.” Que? Whatever the case, they’re all really earnest looking, and positively adorable. And besides, I think I smell an impromptu Contra Dance…
Patterns of Inheritance
8 p.m., ’92 Theater, Free tickets available at the Box Office
In case you missed the article, the Wesleying posts, the flyers or the heated debates over the best way to sew 300 book jackets into a curtain, let us be the first to tell you — this, my friends, is an OPERA about the INTERNET. Written and directed by Ben Bernstein ’10, the production will blend heady reading theories (texts! displaced meaning! discourse! …ok, we added that last one, but it’s totally implied) with a contemporary classical-ish score and libretto comprised of chopped-up blog entries. Drawing from personal blogs and Wikipedia alike, the opera explores how the internet has challenged traditional notions of ownership and privacy, while presenting a variety of personal ruminations on everything from the American Dream to the War in Iraq. The piece also looks at how the internet has merged other forms of media (books, movies, television, etc.) and created a new kind of knowledge through the subtle distortion of information. Best of all: it’s all in song. Plus the set is made out of a bunch of old books, VHS tapes and, from what we hear, a book-jacket curtain. Think internet-stalking strangers’ LiveJournals and listening to Philip Glass, while sitting in your grandma’s acid…and doing acid. And also, your parents are sitting next to you. And also, you’re already flipping shit because robots are trying to take over the world. Try not to freak out.
(“Patterns of Inheritance” will be playing at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday.)
Arranged: Film Screening and Conversation with Filmmaker Stefan Schaefer
9:30 p.m., Tischler Lecture Hall
Come watch this critically acclaimed indie film about two young women, one an Orthodox Jew, the other a Muslim, who become friends as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. The screening will be followed by a talk given by filmmaker Stefan Schaefer ’94.
ENVY Party with Isis
10:30 p.m., WestCo, $1-2
Get green with Isis dance performances at midnight and 12:45 a.m., accompanied by the musical stylings of DJ Notty.
Viking Moses, Snowblink, Julianna Barwick, Belly Boat
8:35 p.m., Earth House
Enjoy some free fun at Earth House with these soothing, family-friendly acts.
Rumspringa, Papa, Slang Chickens
9 p.m., Eclectic House
SATURDAY, OCT. 18
Going Home Again and Again and Again: Loving Haiti, Food and Spirits
10 a.m., Kerr Lecture Hall
Professor of Anthropology and African American Studies Gina Ulysse draws from her memoir to explore “food and spirits” as an entry point into more nuanced narratives about Haiti’s complex socioeconomic reality.
William Manchester: Portrait of a Writer
11 a.m., CFA, Room 190
Join archivists and Manchester’s son as they discuss the life and papers of this Wesleyan icon and bestselling author of (among other works) the controversial JFK bio “The Death of a President.”
Festival on Foss Hill Featuring A Taste of Middlesex County
12 p.m.-3p.m., Andrus Field and Foss Hill
Take your mind off the football game with a delicious array of Middlesex County cuisine, available for sale a la carte. Picnic on the hill while your kids enjoy activities at the Andrus Field tent, which will include magic shows, face painting and free family photos.
Special Collections and Archives Open House
12 p.m.-4p.m., Special Collections and Archives, First Floor, Olin Memorial Library
Nostalgic Wes alums can drop by Olin for a look at old yearbooks, face books, Hermes and Argi. Pack your parents off to indulge in some college reminiscing, back before you came along and ruined their bodies and minds with your difficult birth and incessant, selfish demands.
Join the Orchestra and Play Along!
1 p.m., Crowell Concert Hall
Associate Professor of Music Angel Gil—Ordóñez will lead the orchestra in performing works by Kurt Weill. Register to join the orchestra as a guest musician by contacting Kathy Macko at kmacko@wesleyan.edu or (860) 685-2737.
Writing “The Ethicist”
1 p.m., Memorial Chapel
In this sure-fire parent-pleaser, “Ethicist” writer Randy Cohen discusses his life and New York Times column. Then he lays out a plan for destroying unethical machines, thus avoiding an evil robot apocalypse.
Behind the Scenes: A Daughter Speaks
1:30 p.m., Exley Science Center
Singer, actress and Broadway performer Neva Small discusses her role in “Fiddler on the Roof,” and the making of the film. The program will include a film clip, performance and Q&A.
Can Photography Be Art? Echoes from the 19th Century
1:30 p.m., Davison Art Center Gallery
In this gallery talk, art historian Clare Rogan and historian of science Jennifer Tucker examine rival narratives of the history of photography and its artistic possibilities.
On Writing Thrillers: Michael Palmer and Lee Child
2 p.m., CFA Cinema
Best-selling authors Palmer and Child discuss the art of writing thrillers.
Patterns of Inheritance
2 p.m., ’92 Theater
A World of Possibilities: Conversation with Alastair Reid
3 p.m., Millett Room, Russell House
Reid, a poet, translator and essayist, will read from his recent work.
“Enough: The Future of Black America”
3:15 p.m., Memorial Chapel
Author and senior correspondent for National Public Radio Juan Williams is the speaker at this 16th annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium.
True Stories: Inside the World of Documentary Film
3:30 p.m., Goldsmith Family Cinema, CFA
A panel of documentary filmmakers discuss their work, the form and how they got started.
Stone and Stone
4:30 p.m., Cinema, CFA
While your parents are busy listening to Juan Williams talk about why Clarence Thomas isn’t a creepy old fart, come watch comedic duo Adam and Todd Stone ’05 give a live performance of their patented “Stone and Stone” act, as seen on “Last Comic Standing” and all those flyers taped to the steps of Olin. To be honest, we’re not completely sure what Stone and Stone do — after all, they graduated almost four years ago, and Google is pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing — but after watching a couple minute-long YouTube videos (one of which was a Verizon commercial), we believe we have developed a cursory understanding of their “bit,” as people in the comedy business call it. From what we have gathered, this includes:
– Wearing matching blue suits.
– Making jokes about doing models.
– Looking the same but combing their hair in opposite directions.
– Making jokes about doing homeless girls.
– Talking over each other in a humorous manner.
– Acting like a couple of old Jewish ladies.
– Sticking their fingers up each other’s noses.
– Making Richard Belzer almost piss himself.
Afterward, The Stones will answer questions about their comedy careers, appearance on “Last Comic Standing” and whether or not they think they could beat up the Olson twins.
New Teen Force
8 p.m., Westco Café
Come ready with suggestions for this session of free-form improv.
Green Street Arts Center Benefit: Wesleyan A Cappella Concert and Reception
8 p.m., Memorial Chapel, $10-50
Word on the street is that Wesleyan has at times been called “the singing college of New England.” That name still fits, and not just because of the MGMT-Santogold Wes-bred indie rock axis. A cappella is big here. Like, using-“Wes”-as-a-prefix big. And this concert gives you a chance to see eight different groups in one dizzyingly polyphonic evening. Experience the full range of Wes-capella, from the traditionalism of the Wesleyan Spirits to the comedic stylings of Vocal Debauchery and Waiting in Line, along with the Cardinal Sinners, the New Group, Slavei, Onomatopoeia, and Quasimodal. Also, this is a benefit for the Green Street Arts Center, a great organization that the University runs along with the City of Middletown and community organizers in Middletown’s North End that provides a wide range of classes and after school programs to the city.
Patterns of Inheritance
8 p.m., ’92 Theater
Earth at Eclectic
9 p.m., Eclectic House, $3-5
Force your parents off-campus by dragging them to this evening of drone rock.
Pictureplane, BDRMPPL, stop die resuscitate
9 p.m., Eclectic House
Is Earth part of this line-up, or are the calendars wrong? Was there a scheduling error? Will the bands have to fight to play? Is Earth playing in one room, and the other bands in another? And why does the Eclectic calendar list neither of these shows? Come to Eclectic and find out!
SUNDAY, OCT. 19
Science, Poetry, and the Meaning of Liberal Education
10 a.m., Hansel Lecture Hall (Room 001), PAC
Howard Needler, professor of Letters and of Medieval Studies, tells us what Quantum Theory and the Uncertainty Principle have to do with poetics… and also, hopefully, why our liberal arts education isn’t completely useless.
Across and Down Encore!
10:30 a.m., Kerr Lecture Hall (Room 107), Shanklin Lab
Back by popular demand, crossword expert Ed Stein ’60 (“an occasional puzzle constructor for the New York Times, Newsday and others” according to the Homecoming schedule) shares the tricks of the trade. Attendees will also be treated to a showing of “Wordploy!”, a mockumentary about the annual American Crossword Puzzle
Tournament.
Going Back to Cuba: An Anthropologist Reflects on the Meaning of Home
11:30 a.m., Cinema, CFA
Ruth Behar ’77, professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, discusses her experience of the Jewish exodus from Cuba during Castro’s rise to power, and her recent return to search for the Jews who remain.
Musica Viva
1 p.m., Memorial Chapel
Conductor Roy Wiseman leads the Wesleyan Concert Choir and Wesleyan Ensemble of the Americas in performing music by American composers. Why, you ask, is it then called “Musica Viva”? It is a question for the ages…
Amy Bloom: A Reading and Conversation
2 p.m.-4p.m., Green Street Arts Center, $3-5
Come listen to Amy Bloom ’75 read some of her acclaimed work, and demand to know why she defected to Yale.
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