mining in the deep freeze
Monday- Feb 3
- 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm // Finding and Using Census Data // Main Library, Library 314. Take the north stairwell (Armory and Wright Street entrance) to the 3rd floor of the Main Library and make a left at the top of the stairs. // ANNE
- 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm // Women's Career Institute | Workshop 1: Gearing up for the Fair // Women's Resources Center, 703 S. Wright Street, 2nd Floor, Champaign // ROSHNI- 6:00 pm // European Movie Night: Så Som i Himmelen (As It Is in Heaven) // Lucy Ellis Lounge, 1080 Foreign Language Building // MAGGIE
- 6:00p-8pm // Sally freeking Mann // DePaul...unfortunately // SEANO
-ongoing through May 4 // Art as Provocation // Krannert Art Musem // JOEY
this posting is qualified for non-art students (to post and attend). one time posting allowed only
Tuesday- Feb 4
- 12:00pm // EIR Workshop: Building and Leading Your Business (FREE) // EnterpriseWorks Atrium, 60 Hazelwood Drive Champaign, IL 61820 // CHRIS
- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm // Just Do It: Getting Active in the Classroom // Speaker: Ava Wolf // Location: 428 Armory // JILL- 3:45 pm // Astronomy Colloquium: "The Einstein Toolkit: A Community Computational Infrastructure for Relativistic Astrophysics" // Astronomy 134 // CATE
- 7:00pm-9 pm // #ONECAMPUS: Moving Beyond Digital Hate// Foellinger // PUJA
- 7:00 pm // Illinois Public Media and ITVS present Community Cinema feat. LAS MARTHAS // Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana // BRIAN
- 7:00 pm // Class in mastering the power of your mind // School of Metaphysics, 1009 E.Main, urbana // ALEX
- 7:00pm // Free // Lecture Series: Shawn Johnson// Dream Big and Keep a Winning Balance // Illini Union // CHRIS
Corie:
Shawn talked about her struggles through school of not fitting in with popular
girls, representing USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at age 16 and her skiing
accident that led up to her retirement at age 20.
Maggie: She
is currently attending college in Nashville and recently got a puppy.
Anne: I
think this event was beneficial to me because it was easy to follow her story,
she kept things interesting and she just seemed to get it.
Wednesday- Feb 5
- 3:00pm // Serial Innovators: How Individuals Create and Deliver Breakthrough Innovation in Mature Firms // Auditorium, NCSA Building, 1205 W. Clark St. // JENI
- 6:00pm-7 PM // Champaign-Urbana Design Organization presents “Meet the Pros” talk series feat. filmmakers Chris & Anne Lukeman // Buvons Wine Bar, 203 N Vine, Urbana IL// BRIAN- 7:00 pm // Illinois Public Media and ITVS present Community Cinema feat. LAS MARTHAS // Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana // BRIAN
- 7:00pm // ARC // Free Racquetball Clinic //CORIE
- RECURRING // 7:00 pm // ManTalks // Women's Resources Center, 703 S. Wright Street, 2nd Floor, Champaign (SW corner of Wright & Green St) // ANNE. this event is recurring (weekly?) and will no longer be credited for a post. please feel free to post it as a third excavation if you like, but it will not count as one of two postings.
- 7:30pm // Elliott Chasanov tromboner // KCPA // SEANO
- 9:00PM // Weekly Stand Up Comedy Showcase // Memphis On Main // CORIE
Thursday- Feb.6
- 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm // Research Park Lunar New Year Celebration and Networking // EnterpriseWorks Atrium, 60 Hazelwood Drive Champaign, IL 61820 // ANNE
- 5:00pm // Krannert Uncorked with Emily Otnes and Megan Johns, singer/songwriters // Krannert Stage 5 // BRIGITTA- 5:15 pm // Sex and Eroticism in Ingmar Bergman's Swedish Films of the 1940s and 50s // Lucy Ellis Lounge, 1080 Foreign Language Building // JILL
Brian:
Ingmar Bergman. I too thought the title
of this lecture was very intriguing and I was curious what it would be about. I
was not sure what to expect learning about sex and eroticism from a foreign
director who I have never heard of. However I could not get enough of the
presentation from Professor Arne Laude.
Jill: In
the 40s/50s sex and eroticism in films was very taboo. Directors had to come up
with creative ways to hint at sex without showing anything.
Brigitte:
One example of this is the transition of a couple kissing to roaring flames, a
clear indication of what was to come.
Chris: To
be entirely honest, this week's event was mainly attended because it was one of
the few that fit into my schedule. I knew the content of the lecture was of a
fairly specific topic, but I decided to give it a chance.
- 6:00p-7:30p and ongoing through March 31 // Puja Patel, 'this voice of mine' a solo art exhibit // Asian American Cultural Center, 1210 West Nevada, Urbana // LINDAthis event will not qualify for credit for art majors, ONLY non-art majors. art majors are encouraged to attend to see what your classmate has accomplished
- 7:00pm-9pm //Sex & Gender Film Series | Orgasm, Inc.// Women's Resources Center, 703 S. Wright Street, 2nd Floor. // ROSHNI
- 7:30pm // #ONECAMPUS: moving beyond digital hate // kcpa -- great hall // SEANO
Seano:There was a
diverse field of commenters and many of them opened my eyes to a university
problem I didn’t realize was as severe as it is. The campus is very segregated
in many levels and it is to the detriment of our society.
- 7:30 PM // February Dance: Hybridity // Krannert center for the Performing Arts // ALEX
Alex:
February Dance. I remember last year when i went to february dance, i left
feeling confused and generally unimpressed. This year was much different. I
left feeling inspired, excited, and creative.Friday- Feb.7
- 10:00 am // Libraries Under Siege: Censorship, Access, and Endurance in the Middle East// Room 126, Graduate School of Library and Information Science // PUJA
- 12:00pm // From Black and Red Power to Hip Hop: Black and Native Relations, 1960s to Present // Native American House 1206 W. Nevada St. // BRIGITTA
Joey:
Attached is my picture for 2/7/14//12:00 p.m.// From Black and Red Power to Hip Hop:
Black and Native Relations, 1960s to Present// Native American House// Okay,
so these are all examples of African American insensitivity towards Native
Americans, much like how the rest of America often treats Native Americans
(think of the Chief at UIUC). As I watched these videos though, I thought to
myself, 'surely there is a deeper, more historical approach to the topic!'
<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B19KlObqdaticzJiZW1GOFE2bUE/preview" width="640" height="385"></iframe>
- 4:00pm // Linguistics Seminar and Job Talk: Adam Lopez (Asst. Research Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University) // Lucy Ellis Lounge, 1080 FLB // JENI
- 6:00pm-8pm and recurring // OWL PROWL FUCK YEAH // Mahomet // SEANO
- 7:00pm- 9pm // Observatory Open House // UIUC Observatory // Dome building behind Foellinger // Free // CATE
- 7:00 pm // Latin Dancing Series: Merengue & Bachata // Illini Union Courtyard Cafe // MAGGIE
- 7:00pm-8:00pm// World of Science Talk: Sustainable Farming // // Staerkel Planetarium // LINDSEY
Saturday- Feb. 8
- 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm // Heirlooms, Artifacts, & Family Treasures: The 2014 Preservation Emporium // Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory, Urbana, IL // KELLY
- 4:00 PM // WINE TASTING BENEFIT // Corkscrew in Urbana // ALEX- 7:00pm // Monster nite out // state farm center // LINDSEY
- 7:00pm // Pheonix Improv Comedy Show // $2 with I-Card // Illini Union Courtyard Cafe // JOEY
Cate: Improv. …and you can’t help but laugh because
what are we doing right now in school? Trying to do things that will look good
to someone who is probably only going to pay attention to us for a matter of
seconds… it’s so painfully true that it’s funny.)
Kelly: They
essentially fuse acting with comedy and do it all on the spot. It’s pretty
incredible.
Sunday- Feb. 9
Lindsey:
Lost Lake. The dialogue was so well written that you felt like all of these
other characters were in front of you just as the two main characters were.
This was the most interesting part for me. How to keep a play interesting and
dynamic with two characters in the same room for an hour and a half.
Just Do It: Getting Active in the Classroom
ReplyDeleteSpeaker: Ava Wolf
Date: Feb 4, 2014
Time: 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Location: 428 Armory
Cost: Free but registration required
**go to link below to find registration details
The pedagogical benefits of active learning are well known, but in the college classroom lecturing is still the most commonly used teaching method. Building active learning strategies into the daily routine of classroom instruction takes some planning, but the results can be fun and rewarding for students and instructors. This workshop will engage you in a variety of easy-to-use activities designed to promote deep thinking and retention.
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/7?eventId=31465039&calMin=201401&cal=20140126&skinId=1
Sex and Eroticism in Ingmar Bergman's Swedish Films of the 1940s and 50s
ReplyDeleteSpeaker: Arne Lunde, Associate Professor in the Scandinavian Section at UCLA
Date: Feb 6, 2014
Time: 5:15 pm
Location: Lucy Ellis Lounge, 1080 Foreign Language Building
Abstract: This guest lecture will focus on sex and eroticism in Ingmar Bergman’s films as a director and screenwriter from 1944 until his international breakthrough of the mid-to-late 1950s. While much scholarly attention has been given to Bergman’s 1963 The Silence as brazenly challenging and helping reform the Swedish film censorship restrictions of its time, less attention has been paid to Bergman’s earlier, subversive forays against the sex censors. As a young bohemian writer-director in a Hollywood-influenced postwar Swedish film industry, Bergman consistently pushes the envelope. He spices popular genre melodramas with exploitation elements including pre-marital sex, adultery, lesbianism, prostitution, drug use, juvenile delinquency, abortion, and suicide. Harriet Andersson’s love-goddess nudity in Summer with Monika (1953) marks it as the emblematic early Bergman erotic film (as does its litigious distribution in the U.S. as Monika: The Story of a Bad Girl by exploitation showman Kroger Babb).But other less well-known Bergman features ingeniously rattle and circumvent the censors, from the “In like Flynn” photo still of Hollywood satyr Errol Flynn over Bertha’s bedroom seduction of Jan-Erik inTorment/Hets (1944) to the red-hot lovemaking of Birgitta-Carolina and Tomas sublimated onto a roaring fire inPrison/Fängelse (1949). Diagetic jazz and swing music are often also tied to youth rebellion and liberated libidos for men and women both in these films. Sexuality and eroticism (both overt and displaced) pervade virtually all the early Bergman films as an organizing principal, even as the filmmaker moves from his dark, angst-ridden phase of youth-in-crisis in the late 40s through the more lyrical, melancholic “rose period” films of the early-to-mid 1950s (not least in his wry, sophisticated adult comedies).
To be entirely honest, this week's event was mainly attended because it was one of the few that fit into my schedule. I knew the content of the lecture was of a fairly specific topic, but I decided to give it a chance.
DeleteUpon entering the Foreign Language building, I didn't have any clue where the Lucy Ellis lounge was, as it was tucked away in a fairly un-obvious location. After we found it, we sat in a small classroom that had a projector screen playing on the wall. It took a bit for the presentation to start, and people in the audience all seemed to know each other. I was beginning to wonder if I had picked an event that was too specific and would go right over my head.
Then the lecture began, and Arne Lunde was introduced as a professor from UCLA. He began to talk with great passion about Ingmar Bergman's films. He told us all about how he was writing a book about the less-researched earlier works of Bergman. He told us how Bergman pushed the limits in sweden of what was acceptable at the time. However, to me what was more interesting was how his work translated to media overseas here in America. Bergman's work was risqué, but it also focused on relationships and plot. In America, his work was shamelessly advertised solely for its sex appeal. On at least one occasion, Bergman's film 'Monika' was dubbed in English and sold in the US without acquiring any of the rights at all.
Anyway, the lecture was very much in the format of a typical class lecture, so it did drag a bit at times. But, the speaker's passion for the topic was very apparent, which made the presentation range between bearable and enjoyable throughout.
As stated, the lecture focused on Ingmar Bergman's focus on eroticism and sex in his films. It was presented as a typical lecture in a smaller room to the back of the building. Many of the attendants were much older, and only a small bunch seemed to be actual students. The speaker, Arne Lunde, was very lively and obviously excited about the material he was speaking of.
DeleteQuite risque for the time, many of Bergman's films were marketed as promiscuous must-sees back in the states. However most of the passionate love scenes were actually cleverly filmed so that the passion could still be experienced while the couple's engaged in assumed sexual acts off screen. One example of this is the transition of a couple kissing to roaring flames, a clear indication of what was to come.
Lunde also spoke of Bergman's lesser known works and how one of his films was actually illegally distributed in America. I thought it was sad how a man's work was only noted for it's "steamy" material, when really the plots and characters involved heavy drama and intense relationships.
Overall it was an interesting lecture, even though it was a very specific topic.
I was very engaged by the title of this lecture, which is ultimately why I chose to post this event. I have always been interested in film/TV; basically I am a huge film buff. I know a lot about American film, but I could broaden my knowledge of foreign film.
DeleteThe lecture was held at the Foreign Languages Building in the Lucy Ellis Lounge. Rows of chairs faced a projector screen and podium. While I waited for the lecture to begin I observed the people in the room. The audience was comprised of mostly faculty, and very few students. Some people were talking in German to each other, which surprised me, but then I remembered I was at the Foreign Languages Building and my surprise quickly faded.
The presenter, Arne Lunde, from UCLA is currently writing a book about Ingmar Bergman’s films, which was the theme of his lecture. Lunde gave a brief background about Bergman, his career, and a few of the movies he made. Then he focused his talk about how Bergman presented the issue of sex and eroticism in his films, more specifically in the movie, Summer with Monika (1953). In the 40s/50s sex and eroticism in films was very taboo. Directors had to come up with creative ways to hint at sex without showing anything. What I found particularly interesting about the lecture was how differently films were presented in Sweden than America at the time. In America, the issue of sex was exploited. Lunde ended the presentation and then opened up the floor for a Q and A.
I too thought the title of this lecture was very intriguing and I was curious what it would be about. I was not sure what to expect learning about sex and eroticism from a foreign director who I have never heard of. However I could not get enough of the presentation from Professor Arne Laude.
DeleteGuest speaker, Arne Laude, gave an interesting presentation on Swedish film director and screenwriter Ingmar Bergman. Laude discussed how Bergman's work had really taken off in the mid to late 1950's early 60's. He talked about how Bergman would use different techniques to show characters being troubled or anxious, especially with extreme close ups. Laude then went on to discuss how Bergman had not received much respect early on in his career. For Laude, he believes that Bergman's early career is something that is underrated and deserves more attention which is why he has began writing a book about Ingmar Bergman's young career.
This came to a shock to me because I was not expecting him to be this passionate about Bergman to be writing a book on him. I also found it interesting that some editors, either for his book or something else, had been in the audience as well. It was enjoyable listening to them speak as well with their foreign accents.
What I took away from this was the ways Bergman would portray emotions or physical activities without actually showing them. For example, Bergman was not allowed to show sex in his films because it was not allowed in certain countries but would do so with shots that would imply what was going on instead. One of the cinematographers who Bergman worked with on many films was Gunnar Fischer. Fischer would use sharp focus, stark lighting, lyrical landscapes to really help bring the viewer into the film.
While there was not a big crowd to show up for this presentation the small amount of people that were there seemed very interested in what Laude had to say. Much of the older crowd asked some interesting questions after the presentation and there was a good discussion going back and forth between Laude, the audience and the editors.
I hope that there are more lectures similar to this in the future because I felt as though this lecture was very eye opening to me.
http://tinypic.com/r/2dahxn6/8
DeleteFeb 4 // 7:00pm // Lecture Series: Shawn Johnson (FREE) // Illini Union I-Rooms // CHRIS
ReplyDeleteDescription: Shawn Johnson is an Olympic Gold Medalist in Gymnastics, Dancing with the Stars Champion and now a published author. she will be discussing her experiences with adversity as well as success. A book signing for her published memoir, Winning Balance, will immediately follow the lecture.
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/500?eventId=31465037&calMin=201401&cal=20140127&skinId=1
The event I attended this week was titled “Dream Big and Keep a Winning Balance” which was a presentation given by Shawn Johnson. I was really excited when I heard that THE Shawn Johnson was coming to the University of Illinois. Shawn’s lecture was based upon her story growing up and the struggles that she was faced with since she was little all the way up until she retired from being a competitive athlete. From day one Shawn mentioned that she never really had a bunch of friends and that she was never apart of the ‘cool group’. She stated that she never understood why the kids were mean to her when she was so young since she never did anything to offend these girls…Her presentation continued throughout her struggles growing up and not having much of a social life because she was constantly training for the Olympics. As Shawn was announced as a member of the Olympic team, she said that everyone who was mean to her suddenly had a change of heart and everyone started to be nice to her. By then Shawn didn’t want their fake friendships and she took this experience as a lesson and became stronger from it. I think that is a valuable lesson to many girls who are growing up; I know it happens to a lot of us, if not all of us.
DeleteShawn then went on to speak about her journey through the Olympics and her story was so interesting. I think this event was beneficial to me because it was easy to follow her story, she kept things interesting and she just seemed to get it. She is now 22 and she is enrolled at Vanderbilt where she will get her degree in some type of sports medicine/therapy I believe. This event was my favorite event so far and I am quiet glad that I went through the blizzard to see Shawn speak.
http://tinypic.com/r/zl6m3l/8 Maggie and I before the presentation
http://tinypic.com/r/eq2oap/8 Shawn Johnson
http://tinypic.com/r/69jo76/8 Audience member asking Shawn Johnson to marry him... that's cute
Anne and I decided to fight the weather and attend Shawn Johnson's lecture at the Union. She talked about her new book, which discusses different milestones in her life. Her stories covered topics like Junior High mean girls, growing up as a gymnast, and oh yeah, going to the Olympics. She seemed super sweet and down to earth, and her story was very interesting. She also talked about her life now as a retired competitive gymnast. She is currently attending college in Nashville and recently got a puppy. She is still very active in gymnastics-related programs and was recently chosen as the BIG 10 Gymnast consultant. I'm not sure what that really entails, or if that's the right title. She also talked about her experience on Dancing With Stars. Hearing her story really opened my eyes to how successful someone can be when they work hard. Shawn is only 22 years and seems to be doing very well for herself. I'm really glad I decided to attend this, regardless of the snow!
DeleteI also braved the weather and went to the Union Tuesday night to hear Shawn Johnson speak. As Maggie and Anne stated, Shawn talked about her struggles through school of not fitting in with popular girls, representing USA at the 2008 Beijing Olympics at age 16 and her skiing accident that led up to her retirement at age 20.
DeleteIt was interesting to hear an Olympian speak about her experiences of training, Olympic games, teammates and the pressure of representing her country. What struck me the most from her speech was her experience of winning silver for the all-around competition. Her teammate took first place, Shawn took second. Instead of congratulating Shawn, people were apologizing to her, stating she should have won - she was expected to win. The first question she was asked after the competition was, "how does it feel to lose?" To be asked that question after competing at age 16 and winning silver had to be devastating. She didn't lose, she won sliver.
It was encouraging to see a girl just a year older than myself have many accomplishments, it made me wonder what I am doing with my life.
Feb.6 // 5pm // Krannert Uncorked with Emily Otnes and Megan Johns, singer/songwriters // Krannert Stage 5 // BRIGITTA
ReplyDeletePerformer Emily Otnes
A performer at the Pygmalion Music Festival and the Champaign-Urbana Folk and Roots Festival—combines folk, pop, and jazz in her original compositions. Returning Uncorked artist Megan Johns brings edge and dark wisdom to her folk music.
This event will last approximately 2 hours.
http://www.krannertcenter.com/performance.aspx?id=2013819101557599128174106178
Feb 4 // 12:00pm // EIR Workshop: Building and Leading Your Business (FREE) // EnterpriseWorks Atrium, 60 Hazelwood Drive Champaign, IL 61820 // CHRIS
ReplyDeleteDescription: This EIR Workshop will focus on the basics to building and leading your business. Discussion will include building of leadership, Human Resources fundamentals, evaluating and securing professional services, decision-making, and approaches for greater sales success.
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/500?eventId=30676265&calMin=201401&cal=20140127&skinId=1
Feb.7 // 12pm // From Black and Red Power to Hip Hop: Black and Native Relations, 1960s to Present // Native American House 1206 W. Nevada St. // BRIGITTA
ReplyDeleteSpeaker Kyle Mays
Get a free lunch and enjoy this noontime discussion!
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/7/31314548
If you are like me, reading or hearing the phrase ‘Black and Native relations’ probably made you pause for a moment. Not only did I have no prior knowledge the topic, I also realized the unique relationship of African and Native Americans, both having undergone unspeakable mistreatment and cultural attack by white Americans. So, going in with a lot of curiosity, I was a little disappointed with the briefness and informality of the event, which only lasted about half an hour. The Native American House was small, hardly able to house all the people who came. I sat in the living room, watching a live televised feed of the speaker (a U of I grad student whose name I can’t remember) talking upstairs.
DeleteGiven the subject matter, the presentation itself was somewhat light, and definitely a surface level discussion of African and Native American relations. We watched a music video of Trinidad James featuring T.I., the purpose of which was to note that the logo of T.I.’s record label is an Native American man in a traditional(?) feathered hat. We also watched a music video of Snoop Dogg and Native American rapper Chief, full of scantily clad women wearing Native American-looking clothing. Lastly, we watched Dave Chappelle’s stand-up routine about when he ran into a Native American. Okay, so these are all examples of African American insensitivity towards Native Americans, much like how the rest of America often treats Native Americans (think of the Chief at UIUC). As I watched these videos though, I thought to myself, 'surely there is a deeper, more historical approach to the topic!' It was not exactly the intellectual discussion I had expected. The speaker did include a quote of Malcom X’s in which he speaks to the exaltation of Native American extermination in American pop culture, but that was the furthest into the issue’s historical discourse as things got.
That about sums up all of the information presented. With that in mind, I think the presentation was really just meant to perk people’s interest in the subject. It was held at noon on Friday, and provided a free meal, both of which, combined with the informality of the setting, tell me that it was simply intended to get people to the house and introduce a largely uncovered topic. In that respect, I’d say it was a successful event. I hadn’t even known there was a Native American house on campus, let alone thought about African and Native American relations. But I left the house with a new curiosity in the matter and I am happy about that.
One of the first things I observed when I walked into the Native American House was its size. I walked to the back of the line to get my free meal, and realized that the guest speaker was going to present in a room on the second floor. This seemed a little unusual to me. Since there weren’t any seats left upstairs, the rest of us had to watch via a TV connection on the first floor. This made the experience of the lecture somewhat different because we couldn’t directly interact with the speaker, Kyle Mays. Some of this made me wonder if the Native American House has equal facilities and recognition as other cultural centers on campus. However, I decided to focus more on what the speaker had to say because it was actually interesting too.
DeleteMays spoke to us about Black and Native American relations, which was a topic that I had never really thought much about until that lecture. He used hip-hop music videos and a comedy skit by Dave Chappelle to demonstrate the common stereotypes of “Indians” as portrayed in popular culture. Examples of misogyny and hyper-masculinity run rampant in our world, and it’s interesting how much more obvious they become when you display them in an educational environment.
One of the music videos, “Blowed” by Chief ft. Snoop Dogg was particularly strange because supposedly actual Native women were used in the footage. Whether this is true or not, the eroticization of the feather-donning females is evident. It also promotes the misconception of Natives “getting high” all the time. In Dave Chappelle’s comedy, he also uses historical stereotypes. Our speaker, who is of Black and Native descent, admits that he also finds humor in Chappelle’s skit. However, he also asked us to consider whether or not this is harmful—even if it’s just comedy.
Overall, I found my first experience at the Native American House to be thought-provoking and beneficial to my understanding of cultural awareness. It also made me realize that I don't think I've ever had a Native American friend or acquaintance throughout my life. Or now that I think about it, there may have been some in school---I wish I had noticed back then.
Feb. 5 // 3pm // Serial Innovators: How Individuals Create and Deliver Breakthrough Innovation in Mature Firms // Auditorium, NCSA Building, 1205 W. Clark St. // JENI
ReplyDeleteSpeaker: Bruce Vojak
Cost: FREE
While curiosity may have been said to kill the cat, the authors of Serial Innovators suggest that curiosity is one of the essential skills and attitudes of a technological innovator. The speaker, an Associate Dean of Engineering and adjunct professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, is co-author of the book Serial Innovators (http://www.amazon.com/Serial-Innovators-Individuals-Breakthrough-Innovations/dp/0804775974). His work focuses on the epistemology of innovation (as can be seen on his blog: http://epistemology-of-innovation.com/about-the-author/) and how to develop innovation within organizations. Vojak's talk will share some of the characteristics of serial innovators (people who develop market-leading/market-changing products at least twice during their tenure at a recognized company) and discuss findings from 25 years of research on how to cultivate innovation within a company.
Calendar link: http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/4757?eventId=30608861&calMin=201401&cal=20140127&skinId=1
Feb. 7 // 4pm // Linguistics Seminar and Job Talk: Adam Lopez (Asst. Research Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University) // Lucy Ellis Lounge, 1080 FLB // JENI
ReplyDeleteFREE and open to the public
Adam Lopez, a research scientist and assistant research professor at Johns Hopkins University, will present a job talk based on his research in linguistics. His work addresses machine translation issues, such as bridging the gap between "big data" and the algorithms used by search engines. Read more about his work here: http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~alopez/
Calendar link: http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/319?eventId=31460174&calMin=201401&cal=20140127&skinId=1
Feb. 3 // 4pm // Women's Career Institute | Workshop 1: Gearing up for the Fair// Women's Resources Center, 703 S. Wright Street, 2nd Floor, Champaign (SW corner of Wright & Green St). // ROSHNI
ReplyDeleteWomen's Career Institute | Workshop 1: Gearing up for the Fair
Date Feb 3, 2014
Time 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location Women's Resources Center, 703 S. Wright Street, 2nd Floor, Champaign (SW corner of Wright & Green St)
Cost FREE
Sponsor Women's Resources Center and the Career Institute
Contact Rachel Lauren Storm
E-Mail rstorm2@illinois.edu
Phone 217-333-3137
Event type Co-sponsored by WRC
Views 52
Join us for a discussion of best practices for gearing up for that upcoming career fair.
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/2345/31439369
Feb. 6 // 7pm-9pm //Sex & Gender Film Series | Orgasm, Inc.// Women's Resources Center, 703 S. Wright Street, 2nd Floor, Champaign (SW corner of Wright & Green St). // ROSHNI
ReplyDeleteSex & Gender Film Series | Orgasm, Inc.
Date Feb 6, 2014
Time 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location Women's Resources Center, 703 S. Wright Street, 2nd Floor, Champaign (SW corner of Wright & Green St)
Cost FREE
Sponsor Women's Resources Center
Contact Rachel Lauren Storm
E-Mail rstorm2@illinois.edu
Phone 217-333-3137
Event type WRC Documentary Film Series
Views 693
In the shocking and hilarious documentary ORGASM INC., filmmaker Liz Canner takes a job editing erotic videos for a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company. Her employer is developing what they hope will be the first Viagra drug for women that wins FDA approval to treat a new disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Liz gains permission to film the company for her own documentary. Initially, she plans to create a movie about science and pleasure but she soon begins to suspect that her employer, along with a cadre of other medical companies, might be trying to take advantage of women (and potentially endanger their health) in pursuit of billion dollar profits. ORGASM INC. is a powerful look inside the medical industry and the marketing campaigns that are literally and figuratively reshaping our everyday lives around health, illness, desire — and that ultimate moment: orgasm. The Sex + Gender Film Series occurs on Thursdays at the Women's Resources Center in collaboration with the Department of Gender and Women's Studies, National Organization for Women UIUC Chapter, DiversityEd, and Department of Media and Cinema Studies. Free and open to the public- bring your friends! Should you require any accommodations (assistance with food and seating, large print programs, an ASL interpreter, visual/audio assistance, etc.), please contact us at your earliest convenience. Paid for by the Student Cultural Programming Fee.
Feb. 8 // 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm // Heirlooms, Artifacts, & Family Treasures: The 2014 Preservation Emporium // Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory, Urbana, IL // KELLY
ReplyDeleteThe University of Illinois Preservation Working Group presents its biennial Preservation Emporium—Heirlooms, Artifacts, & Family Treasures. Bring your preservation questions along with small, hand-held items or images of larger items for examination by preservation specialists whose expertise ranges from antiquities to textiles and musical instruments to modern digital media. Parking is free; use University lot D22 on the east side of Spurlock Museum.
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/7?eventId=31206321&calMin=201401&cal=20140127&skinId=1
Feb. 9 // 2:00pm // The Sullivan Project | Lost Lake by David Auburn // Krannert Center, Studio Theatre // KELLY
ReplyDeleteTickets: $10-$18
In its inaugural year, The Sullivan Project will produce "Lost Lake," a new play from David Auburn. In the latest work from the author of "Proof," Veronica finds herself at a crossroads in life and decides to take her children far from the distractions of New York City. When she leases a ramshackle cabin, she meets Hogan, who is facing challenges that will affect her chances of getting away from it all.
I decided to attend the Lost Lake show today. I have never sought out going to see plays in my life but I decided that I should try and step out of my comfort zone of going to planetarium the past two weeks. The show took place in the studio theatre which was somewhat small but cozy at the same time. What really drew me in from the beginning was the set design/backdrop/props. It was pretty extravagant and over the top. What I didn't realize doing into it was that the scene never changed and it was the same two actors the entire play. They changed times of day/seasons through cues which the audience had to pick up on. Some of these cues were lighting/temperature outside/music and so on. There was a women and a man who were the main characters. The women was renting a summer home for one week with her three children from this man named Hogan. The children and Hogans family played a big role in the story line yet you never once saw them in the play. The dialogue was so well written that you felt like all of these other characters were in front of you just as the two main characters were. This was the most interesting part for me. How to keep a play interesting and dynamic with two characters in the same room for an hour and a half. By the end of the play I felt engaged and as if I knew the characters and their problems very well. Victoria and Hogan were both struggling in their life with family and jobs and most of the dialogue was about this. Overall, I learned a lot about minimalistic production. I really was very interesting and I am happy that I attended this play for this weeks mining event.
DeleteFeb 6 // 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm // Research Park Lunar New Year Celebration and Networking // EnterpriseWorks Atrium, 60 Hazelwood Drive Champaign, IL 61820 // ANNE
ReplyDeleteResearch Park Lunar New Year Celebration and Networking
We will celebrate the Lunar New Year together in style with an informal networking event. There will be good food, good music and good company! We hope to see you there!
No cost!!
Register to attend this event online at http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/3462?eventId=31352570&calMin=201401&cal=20140127&skinId=8218
This sounds like good practice for practicing our networking skills plus there will be free food and music! Sounds fun!!!
Feb 5 // 7:00 pm // ManTalks // Women's Resources Center, 703 S. Wright Street, 2nd Floor, Champaign (SW corner of Wright & Green St) // ANNE
ReplyDelete"Come talk with other guys about masculinity, male gender roles, and issues that affect men today! Topics include male friendships, work / life balance, dating and sex, sports and fitness, and anything else you'd be interested in!"
This is a free event. Could have the potential to be fun or funny, not really sure but i've been to a few events at the WRC and they haven't been too bad! Worth checking out at least once in my opinion.
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/2345?eventId=31360850&calMin=201401&cal=20140127&skinId=2292
Tea Ceremony // Feb 6th // 3:00pm // Japan House // $8.00 // 2000 S. Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, IL // LINDSEY
ReplyDeleteTea ceremony every Thursday at 3 pm. Reservations are required. To reserve in advance, please call with a credit card number to hold your reservation. The fee is $8 per person. A tea ceremony takes approximately an hour. Ages 4 - 100; handicap accessible
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/596?eventId=31050191&calMin=201401&cal=20140128&skinId=1
World of Science Talk: Sustainable Farming // Friday Feb 7th // 7:00-8:00pm // Staerkel Planetarium // LINDSEY
ReplyDelete"The Sustainable Student Farm: Learn, Grow Food, Eat It!"
What does it take to have a sustainable farm? Is this the wave of the future? Find out from Zack Grant, the managing director of the Sustainable Student Farm at the university as he discusses cover cropping rotations, compost utilization and organic farming techniques. Admission is only $1 at the door.
http://www2.parkland.edu/planetarium/calendar.html
Feb 3 // 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm // Finding and Using Census Data // The workshop will be held in the Main Library, Library 314. Take the north stairwell (Armory and Wright Street entrance) to the 3rd floor of the Main Library and make a left at the top of the stairs. // ANNE
ReplyDeleteSpeaker Karen Hogenboom, Numeric and Spatial Data Librarian, sc@library.illinois.edu
The Census Bureau provides socioeconomic and demographic data for large and small geographic areas in the U.S. Learn how to find everything from median income for your block to commuting time for every county in the U.S., as well as how to download data so that you can analyze it in Excel or statistical software.
Its free but requires you to register ahead of time. Registration can be found using this link http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/500?eventId=31462824&calMin=201401&cal=20140127&skinId=1
Feb 3 // 6 pm // European Movie Night: Så Som i Himmelen (As It Is in Heaven) // Lucy Ellis Lounge, 1080 Foreign Language Building // Maggie
ReplyDeleteSponsored by: European Union Center
A successful international conductor suddenly interrupts his career and returns alone to his childhood village in Norrland, in the far north of Sweden. It doesn't take long before he is asked to come and listen to the fragment of a church choir, which practices every Thursday in the parish hall. Just come along and give a little bit of good advice. He can't say no, and from that moment, nothing in the village is the same again. The choir develops and grows. He makes both friends and enemies. And he finds love.
In Swedish with English subtitles. Movie is free and open to the public.
Feb 7 // 7 pm // Latin Dancing Series: Merengue & Bachata // Illini Union Courtyard Cafe // Maggie
ReplyDeleteGet on your feet and learn Merengue and Bachata! A dancing workshop starts at 7pm and then an open dance with a live DJ will start at 8pm. Step to the beat!
Sponsored by: Courtyard Cafe & La Casa Cultural Latina
Cost: $2 students w/I-Card & $3 general public
Monster nite out // feb 8th // 7:00pm //state farm center // LINDSEY
ReplyDelete“MONSTER NITE OUT” WINTER 2014 LUCAS OIL MONSTER TRUCK NATIONALS Feb 8, 2014 (Sat) 7:00 PM State Farm Center For 2014, the Lucas Oil Monster Truck Nationals will present an all-star lineup of America’s top monster trucks including the world’s most famous and original monster truck—Lucas Oil BIGFOOT. Joining BIGFOOT will be hemi-powered racing legends, RAMINATOR and RAMMUNITION. And rounding out the competitors will be renowned speed-demon WAR WIZARD. This year they have “Monster Money Booth” where fans will grab handfuls of cash from a swirling cash tornado called “The Cash-Nado”. Contestants will be randomly selected attendees and will be qualified during the first half of the show. At intermission, three finalists will step inside the money maelstrom and walk away richer. Tickets on sale now! Tickets are available at the Illinois Box Office at State Farm Center, Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. www.StateFarmCenter.com or charge by phone at 866-ILLINI-1. (866-455-4641.)
http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/7?eventId=30754115&calMin=201401&cal=20140129&skinId=1
Free Racquetball Clinic // Feb 5th // 7:00pm // ARC // Corie
ReplyDeleteLearn how to play racquetball or refine your skills. A free event to all University of Illinois students and Campus Recreation staff. Sign-up for one or more clinics at ARC Member Services. Racquet and eye protection are supplied if needed.
Weekly Stand Up Comedy Showcase // Feb 5th // 9:00PM // Memphis On Main // Corie
ReplyDeleteVoted Best Place to See Comedy in C-U for 2012 and 2013! This weekly Stand Up Comedy Showcase helps feature some of the best performers in the area. Often we have traveling comics from St Louis, Chicago, Peoria, ect coming in, as well as C-U Comics who are feature acts at Comedy Clubs in the Midwest. Mixed in are showcase performers and new comers to stand up.
Not an open mic. All performers have been on stage prior.
No Cover - 9pm - $2 You Call It Rails and $2.50 Corona's at the bar.
For more information on how to eventually perform at Memphis on Main contact Jesse Tuttle at jesse@cucomedy.com and visit www.cucomedy.com
Feb 4 // 7-9 pm // #ONECAMPUS: Moving Beyond Digital Hate// Foellinger // Puja
ReplyDelete#ONECAMPUS: MOVING BEYOND DIGITAL HATE is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and community members to listen and share with each other ideas, concerns, and opportunities arising from the ways in which the use of social media has impacted the Illinois community.
(I believe this is a response to the Twitter attacks on Chancellor Wise earlier this week..should be interesting)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1452604324953824/
Note: I posted this before the event got re-scheduled to Thursday Feb 6th.
DeletePart I
DeleteThis event was in response to last week’s social media outburst against the administration, specifically targeting Chancellor Phyllis Wise after an email was sent to the student body confirming classes would be taking place as scheduled and reminding students to be warm and safe in their commute. Many students, myself included, utilized their free speech and voiced their response in some way through social media outlets. On twitter, in order to keep a discussion thread the posters use a common #hashtag in their tweets. The trending hashtag: #fuckphyllis. A disturbing number of students used disturbing racist and sexist slurs in this viral discussion, which gained the unwanted attention of BuzzFeed (http://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/after-being-denied-a-snow-day-university-of-illinois-student). It was a national news story for the week.
The discussion was pretty much open format. Two moderators gave opening statements and the floor was opened up for almost 45 minutes to audience comments on two microphones to talk about their general feelings on what happened. Afterwards there were two student testimonials from students; one a student who felt the need to apologize in person and detail to the chancellor after her tweets ended up on buzzfeed, the other an Asian-American international student sitting right beside. They ended with open comments to kind of move forward.
What first really intrigued me was when one of the moderators posed a task to the audience, to close our eyes and allow a flash of the first image that comes to my head when he expresses a term. “American girl”. I had a flash of an image and sort of tried to self-correct, but it made me aware of my conditional response to that idea. The guy pointed out that if in fact you google “American girl”, you’ll find several screens of blonde haired, blue eyes girls, and it is only by a refined search do you start to find African American, Latin American, or otherwise, and even further refined to get to the original, Native American girl. (Was that a run on sentence?) That also kind of intrigued me because I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we (natural USA citizens) tend to refer to ourselves and be referred to as “Americans” when the actuality is we are of USA. America consists of much more than solely the US, yet many white people tend to view themselves as classic American. It’s very ironic. But as brought up by someone’s comments, some of this self-righteousness stems from generations of un-corrected social conditioning.
Another part that intrigued me of this debacle was how the offenders defended their actions. Many people claimed that the comments were not meant to be hateful while others called them a joke. I think the community is made up of people who get it, people who kind of get it, and people who don’t get it. I think people who decide to yell insults online don’t get it. Some things are not jokes and I think its important to evaluate why we do think of those things as jokes, where they come from and what not because all jokes are based in reality.
DeleteThere was a diverse field of commenters and many of them opened my eyes to a university problem I didn’t realize was as severe as it is. The campus is very segregated in many levels and it is to the detriment of our society. With so many people coming from so many diverse backgrounds, its kind of dumb to cut yourself off from those other new ideas and what not. Someone suggested a diversity workshop for freshman the same wy they put students through alcohol and rape classes.
Another student commented that a friend of his saw him come into the great hall and say to him “What are you doing in here? You’re white.”
As a closing thought, I want to say that I think about race a lot and its interesting to me how people make assertions about other people based on the visually apparent features that set us apart from each other (skin color). But pigment is a mere part on our chromosomes and hardly makes us much different from each other at all. It makes about as much sense as if we made those racial assertions based on blood type, or lactose tolerance. I just like to plant that thought in peoples brains, because it changed the way I think about race once I learned about it in an anthropology class last summer.
Feb 7 // 10 am // Libraries Under Siege: Censorship, Access, and Endurance in the Middle East// Room 126, Graduate School of Library and Information Science // Puja
ReplyDeleteLibraries Under Siege: Censorship, Access, and Endurance in the Middle East is a panel discussion focused on the role of Middle Eastern libraries in environments fraught with civil unrest and military conflict. The panel will discuss censorship, access, power and politics in Syrian, Lebanese, and Egyptian institutions. Panelists include Syrian librarian and Professor Inaam Charaf, Lebanese librarian and president of the Lebanese Library Association Randa Chidiac, and UIUC GSLIS librarian and professor Laila Houssein Moustafa. The panel will be a joint virtual/physical event, and there will be time for questions from physically present and virtual participants. Virtual participants can join using this link: https://sas.elluminate.com/d.jnlpsid=407&password=GSLISMtgRMparticpant
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http://illinois.edu/calendar/detail/7?eventId=31441692&calMin=201401&cal=20140131&skinId=1
Feb 5 // 6-7 PM // Champaign-Urbana Design Organization presents “Meet the Pros” talk series feat. filmmakers Chris & Anne Lukeman // Buvons Wine Bar, 203 N Vine, Urbana IL
ReplyDeleteThe landscape of professional video production is changing. Shots in Hollywood blockbusters and Superbowl commercials are being filmed with equipment that fits in the palm of your hand and costs less than $1,000.
At the same time, community initiatives like the K-12 student "Pens to Lens" screenwriting competition are making way for a dramatic increase in the already impressive local film production scene.
Chris and Anne Lukeman will speak about these trends, and how they affect all aspects of advertising, marketing, and the future of video. The Lukemans have been active filmmakers and video producers in the community for the past nine years.
The Lukeman Filmography
From directing the 2008 horror-comedy-musical feature film "The University of Illinois vs. A Mummy," to releasing a sci-fi web series "Once Upon a Time in the 1970s," to having spec commercials purchased by national brands like Dell Computers and CVS Pharmacy, the Lukemans have created content at almost all levels of production.
Their comedy short films have screened on VH1, Comedy Central, The Big Ten Network, PBS affiliates, and national film festival programs, while receiving Mid America Emmy, Hugo Television Award, and National Student Television Award recognition.
From UIUC to Film Society
The Lukemans work for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where Chris manages the local access television channel, UI-7, and they both produce video for UIUC Public Affairs that brings the Illinois brand to a national market.
Chris and Anne are founding board members of the Champaign-Urbana Film Society, an organization dedicated to supporting film production and film appreciation in the community. One of CUFS's main initiatives is the "Pens to Lens" student screenwriting competition.
"Pens to Lens" is a K-12 contest that invites local students to submit short screenplays. Local filmmakers turn the screenplays into films, and local designers from CUDO turn them into movie posters.
More information about the 2014 contest can be found at www.PensToLens.com
More information on Chris and Anne's narrative comedy/horror/sci-fi films can be found at
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www.killvampirelincoln.com
Feb 4 // 7 pm // Illinois Public Media and ITVS present Community Cinema feat. LAS MARTHAS // Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana // BRIAN
ReplyDeleteFebruary’s Community Cinema screening and discussion features Las Marthas, a documentary about the annual debutante ball in Laredo, Texas, which dates from the aftermath of the U.S.-Mexico War. The film follows two Mexican American girls carrying this tradition on their young shoulders during a time of economic uncertainty and political tension over immigration.
Sponsored by the Illinois Public Media/Spurlock Museum Community Cinema Partnership, the event takes place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana. Free parking is available in U of I lot D-22 next to the museum.
Illinois Public Media reporter Sean Powers will moderate a discussion among panelists including:
Julie A. Dowling, University of Illinois associate professor of Latina/Latino studies and sociology, an expert in the area of Latino racial identity construction and racial attitudes and the author of the forthcoming book, Mexican Americans and the Question of Race. She is a native of Texas.
Robert M. Morrissey, U of I assistant professor of history, a specialist in the history of colonial America, the American frontier and borderlands.
Cele Otnes, U of I professor of business administration, whose area of research interest is ritual-based consumer behavior, such as weddings and gift giving. She is the co-author of the book, Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding.
Angharad N. Valdivia, U of I professor of Latina/Latino studies, Latin American and Caribbean studies, media and cinema studies, gender and women’s studies, and Center for Global Studies. In her research, she focuses on gender and transnational identity issues, particularly those of young Latina women in the U.S. She is the author of numerous book chapters and journal articles.
Every February, one of the largest celebrations of George Washington’s birthday in the world takes place in the border town of Laredo, Texas. This 116-year-old tradition has evolved into an entire month of inventive reenactments and bicultural celebrations, many of them involving Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, their sister city across the border. The most preeminent event of them all, however, is the invitation-only Colonial Ball hosted by the elite Society of Martha Washington.
Society daughters, most of them Mexican American, are invited to debut in elaborate colonial gowns representing iconic figures from America’s revolutionary history. Their goal: to recreate a party hosted by Martha Washington, but this time set on the U.S./Mexico border. Las Marthas follows two of the young debutantes — one a prominent member of Laredo society and the other a newcomer from Mexico — as they prepare for this rite of passage.
A year in the making, each girl’s dress can weigh up to 100 pounds and cost up to $30,000 — nearly the median family income of Laredo. Many of these spectacular creations are made by highly coveted dressmaker Linda Leyendecker Gutierrez, an oil heiress who designs her dresses with “heavenly inspiration from God.”
Las Marthas premieres on the PBS series Independent Lens at 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, on WILL-TV.
- See more at: http://smilepolitely.com/splog/community_cinema_highlights_mexican_american_debutante_tradition/#sthash.Jl0zIYlK.dpuf
Friday Feb 7th // Around 7pm- 9pm // Observatory Open House // UIUC Observatory // Dome building behind Foellinger // Free // Cate
ReplyDelete"The first Friday of every month is our Observatory Open House. We use the University's historic telescope, located at the Campus Observatory, to explore the night sky!
Free and open to the public. All ages welcome!
(Note: If the first Friday of the month is too cloudy, we will postpone the Open House until the second Friday.)"
I've been like 7 times. Never gets old. Bundle up.. some of the telescopes are outside.
Feb 4, 2014 // Astronomy Colloquium: "The Einstein Toolkit: A Community Computational Infrastructure for Relativistic Astrophysics" // 3:45 pm // Astronomy 134 // Cate
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like something that would be wayyy over my head.. but you should go for it.
"High level component frameworks for large scale complex applications are being successfully developed and used in different science and engineering areas. Component frameworks provide benefits in their abstraction of complex capabilities such as parallelization or I/O, enable collaborative code development and code reuse, and provide a pathway to new integrated multiphysics simulation environments and large scale computing. This talk will provide an overview of the Cactus Framework focusing on how it is being used by the Einstein Toolkit Consortium to provide a community resource for computational relativistic astrophysics."
Art as Provocation // Krannert Art Musem // Jan 24 to May 4 // Joey
ReplyDeleteArt as Provocation features works from the museum’s permanent collection whose creators used similar tactics to confront societal inequities surrounding race, gender, or sexual orientation; to protest military conflict; or to criticize growing class disparity. The contemporary artists featured in this exhibition utilize varying forms of appropriation, humor, and subversion to make a statement on current realities and highlight the need for change.
Feb 8th // 7pm // Pheonix Improv Comedy Show // $2 with I-Card // Illini Union Courtyard Cafe // Joey
ReplyDelete"Come LOL with us."
Last week, I really enjoyed the Illini Showcase with Esteban Gast, much more so than I expected. The overall energy and humor of the event definitely drew me in. So when I saw this post about an improv comedy show, I thought it would also be something really fun and different to see. I’d never been to an improve show before, but a few friends of mine have and they swore it would be hilarious.
DeleteI showed up about 40 minutes early to the 7:00 event, just because I had already been out. Ten minutes later, a group of smartly dressed people walked in together, and I assumed them to the Phoenix Comedy group. I’m not sure why I cared, but I really appreciated the fact that they dressed up. They took group photos together and chatted until the start of the show. One fact I thought was odd was that the event didn’t start selling tickets until 5 minutes before the show started, so everyone that had already showed up had to get up and go back to the door to buy a ticket. (I say ticket, but it was just a mark on the hand.)
The show started about ten past seven and began with the group introducing themselves and the concept of improv comedy. I didn’t quite catch what the first prompt was about, but it had to do with turkeys. Group members jumped in and jumped out at certain times to keep the skit fresh. For different skits, the members would take on different characters, often really exaggerated with hilarious voices, accents, and movements. The audience loved the group and was really vocal with them.
Overall, I loved the show. It was unique, fast-paced, and felt very genuine, if that makes sense. The students who perform in Phoenix Comedy Improv are extremely talented. They essentially fuse acting with comedy and do it all on the spot. It’s pretty incredible. Their confidence is enviable as well. (Falling, screaming, squealing, rolling around…they do it all.) For only $2, I would definitely recommend this event to those who have never been. Their next show is March 15th.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMy all time favorite teacher is a U of I alum who participated in improv when he was on campus. He has always lectured me on how much he loved it and how much it taught him. He’s also been pushing me to attend shows and even participate in some kind of improv exercise/show. But no matter what he said I still couldn’t find improv appealing. Playing pretend was just something I neither did nor enjoyed as a kid. For example I loved dressing my barbies up (cutting off all their hair and coloring their scalps with sharpies) and setting the “stage” but I never held them up and made them talk or act our scenarios.
DeleteWith that being said, an improv stage is visually painful for me to look at. There is nothing there but a black backdrop and maybe a couple chairs. The actors are also dressed in pretty much all black and I understand that this is to allow them to act in many different directions with the audiences still being able to imagine what is actually happening, however I always found it a little awkward to watch a grown person pretend to take things in and out of a pretend fridge.
Once I was able to get over the visual components (or lack there of) on the stage, I was able to focus on what they were actually saying.. and it was pretty funny. It’s really cool to watch a group of people run with a topic for 20 minutes and continuously create new material while referencing previous jokes that they’ve made. It’s actually really fucking impressive.
A group of them did this one skit called Nightmare. They asked for a member of the audience to come up and they just ask that person a couple things about himself. After only a few minutes of questioning the group had extracted enough material to create “his nightmare”. It was definitely the most tasteful way to poke fun at an audience member.
I think what I like the most about improv, is that it’s the same concept but can never be exactly the same because none of it is scripted.
(There were also quite a few thought provoking moments.. For example, during the night mare skit they were making fun of interviewing…
“I’ve spent years focusing on physics and stairs…”- improv member pretending to be person from audience.
“And we spent seconds looking over your test scores.”- improv member pretending to evaluate him.
…and you can’t help but laugh because what are we doing right now in school? Trying to do things that will look good to someone who is probably only going to pay attention to us for a matter of seconds… it’s so painfully true that it’s funny.)
Feb 5 // 7:30pm // Elliott Chasanov tromboner // KCPA // SEANO
ReplyDeleteA prolific performer, Elliot Chasanov has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Ballet, and the Cleveland Opera and was the principal trombonist and trombone soloist of the US Air Force Band and Orchestra. He currently travels worldwide for solo recitals, is a member of the Illinois Brass Quintet, and serves as a regular substitute for the Milwaukee Symphony.
http://www.krannertcenter.com/performance.aspx?id=201416121666801921714560
Feb 7 // 7:00pm // Sustainable Farming talk // Staerkel Planetarium // SEANO
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine what they need that dome ceiling for, but I hope its to project stars. lol
"World of Science" talk: Sustainable Farming
"The Sustainable Student Farm: Learn, Grow Food, Eat It!"
What does it take to have a sustainable farm? Is this the wave of the future? Find out from Zack Grant, the managing director of the Sustainable Student Farm at the university as he discusses cover cropping rotations, compost utilization and organic farming techniques. Admission is only $1 at the door.
Feb 4 // 7:00pm // Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson // Illini Union //SEANO
ReplyDeleteThe Illini Union Board (IUB) welcomes Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson to the Illini Union this Tuesday, February 4. She will speak at 7pm in the Illini Union I-Rooms in the west wing.
Ms. Johnson won the gold medal in the balance beam at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as well as silver medals in the team, all-around and floor competitions. She won her first Senior National Championships at the age of fifteen in 2007, and claimed the all-around and floor exercise titles at the World Championships that same year. In 2008, she held her title at the National Championships and was announced as a member of the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team.
IUB Program Advisor Jared Eakins explained the enthusiasm in hosting Ms. Johnson, saying, “Due to her outstanding leadership experience not only as a competitive athlete, but also as an ambassador who proudly represented her nation, Shawn Johnson embodies all the qualities we hope to find in our lecture series speakers. She has dealt with adversity in her career and personal life, and this connects to and inspires our audience.”
In 2009, Ms. Johnson participated in and won the eighth season of ABC’s hit show Dancing with the Stars. She returned in the fall of 2013 for the All-Star edition of the series and came in second place.
She published her second book in 2012, Winning Balance, where she chronicled her many athletics triumphs and defeats, as well as personal obstacles. Shortly after its publication, she announced her retirement from gymnastics due to a knee injury.
A book signing will immediately follow the lecture. Winning Balance is currently on sale for 20% off the list price at $12.00 at the Illini Union Bookstore. Books will be available for purchase on site before, during and after the lecture. All sales support student programs and services. This is a free event, open to the public. The Illini Union is located at 1401 W. Green St. in Urbana. The Illini Union Bookstore is located at 809 S. Wright St. in Champaign.
Feb 7 // 6-8pm // OWL PROWL FUCK YEAH // Mahomet
ReplyDeleteLinda...
February 7, 2014
Why prowl for owls in February? More owls can be found in Champaign County during the winter months, and for some species, this is their breeding season. That means we have a good chance of hearing or seeing a live owl in the wild! This program begins indoors with a slideshow, then we will hit the trails to call and search for owls! Register early for this popular program. $4 per person; children 2 and under are FREE. Registration required; (217) 896-2455 or cwalsh@ccfpd.org.
http://visitchampaigncounty.org/calendar/date/owl-prowl-5
FWIW this is recurring next week in Homer
Deletefeb 4 // 7:00 pm // Class in mastering the power of your mind // School of Metaphysics, 1009 E.Main
ReplyDeletethis looks like it would actually be kind of fun.. theres a free introductory class this week, then it costs money for the rest of the sessions through the end of feb.
Do you have an unquenchable thirst to know about the cosmos and your place in it? Do you have an inner drive to understand yourself to the point of enlightenment? Are you searching for peace of mind? Your potential is waiting! The School of Metaphysics offers a step-by-step practice and application of Ten Essential Life Skills and 13 Universal Laws leading you to a state of peace, equanimity, and enlightenment. We don’t just study and talk about these ideas; we apply them daily in our lives turning information into knowledge, understanding into wisdom. This is what is called believing something is true to knowing it is true, and to know something is true you must have a personal experience with it. Our classes are comprehensive. Woven within the fabric of the School are all the Yogas, principles of Buddhism as well as the teachings of Lao Tsu, Jesus, Zoroaster and Yogananda among others. They are presented in a structure for the Western Mind so they can be grasped and applied. Disciplines such as one-pointed concentration, meditation, visualization make up the foundation of the Study. In addition students learn the Universal Language of Mind so they can interpret their own and other’s dreams. Manifestation as well as stillness within are both valued in the coursework. Learn what the whole mind is and how to use it. Discover the secrets of the universe hidden in plain sight. Free introductory class Tuesday, February 4 7:30 pm at the School of Metaphysics, 1009 E.Main, Urbana Registration for the new class Tuesday, February 11 7:30 pm at the School of Metaphysics, 1009 E.Main, Urbana Classes will continue each Tuesday after that. Each student pays a minimum $20.00 weekly donation. For more information and to pre-register call 217-344-2270
feb 8 // 4:00 PM // WINE TASTING BENEFIT // Corkscrew in Urbana // ALEX
ReplyDeleteyou betta believe I'm going to this!
To help get through the joys of February, we are hosting a major wine tasting event to benefit the CU Ballet on Saturday, February 8th from 4-7pm. The Champaign-Urbana Ballet is dedicated to promoting classical and contemporary ballet, offering performance opportunities to talented youth, and enriching and involving the community through the art of dance. Come out and support an organization that makes our community unique and try a lot of great wines! $35 admission includes tickets to the University of Illinois Dance Department's February Dance at Krannert Center that evening, decadently tasty treats, and, of course, the complete wine tasting. Reserve your tickets with Kay at cuballet@gmail.com or tel: 217-355-7317.
Feb 6-8 // 7:30 PM // February Dance: Hybridity // Krannert center for the Performing Arts // ALEX
ReplyDeleteif you go to the wine tasting i posted above, tickets are included in that price.
Dance at Illinois presents its February Dance Concert 2014, a program titled HYBRIDITY. This year we examine the ways contemporary dance has always engaged hybridity. A term initiated by scientists and expansively reconsidered by cultural scholars, hybridity has come to be known as a symbol of the contemporary era, a place of national, racial, gendered, aesthetic and disciplinary blurring. This combining of ostensibly disparate components to create another anew has been intrinsic to the making of contemporary dance since the turn of the 20th century. This year, six choreographers offer their own take on hybridity in a collection of works that will offer audiences a smorgasbord of visual meatiness. Beginning with a pre-‐performance lobby event, a duet performed by former and current graduate students, choreographed by Renee Wadleigh, inside the theatre patrons will be treated to an evening of work by resident faculty Linda Lehovec, Jennifer Monson, John Toenjes, visiting lecturer Elijah Gibson and guest choreographer Jennifer Archibald.
10$ with iCard, or just go to that wine tasting and get your drink on before hand!
This week, i went to February Dance: Hybridity with Liz. It was REALLY good. Seriously good. So, i went to puja's exhibition (which was excellent) earlier in the day instead of the wine tasting, so i wasn't buzzed like l had planned.. BUT i thoroughly enjoyed this event. Specifically, i loved the first half before the intermission. It was upbeat, exciting, and did an excellent job telling a story. It was pretty clear that the first half was the older, more experienced dance majors. At one point, i realized i have drank with just about everyone on stage (the girls that live above me are dance majors) which made it that much more enjoyable and me that much more interested. I remember last year when i went to february dance, i left feeling confused and generally unimpressed. This year was much different. I left feeling inspired, excited, and creative. There was one dance, however, that was pretty strange.. There was an app we were supposed to download that would show 3D graphics at a specific point during that dance. Of course, the app failed for over half the audience because we all downloaded it once and crashed their server, but i was one of the lucky ones who got it to work. I screen shotted one section, so you can see what I'm talking about. Basically, the dance was about humans interaction and immersion with technology. All the dancers had iPads that they used as light sources and their outfits were all neon.. I think it was a little forced and obvious, but whatever i guess. The rest of the dances were so good, it didn't diminish my experience. I was very proud of my friends who performed and also jealous of their talent! I'll definitely go to more of these.
DeleteFeb 3 // 6-8pm // Sally freeking Mann // DePaul...unfortunately // SEANO
ReplyDeleteOk so I know this is a long shot that anyone in this class would make it to this, but if you're in the city and not an art major, I highly highly recommend this. My girlfriend is going and recording audio for me, so I will probably post it (with a minor analysis) later.
It is of little surprise that Sally Mann's name figures so prominently in nearly every list of the greatest photographers ever. Whether turning her camera toward the gravity of a single tree, the quietude of an overgrown battlefield, the banality of a rotting corpse, or the still and exigent truth of her immediate family, Mann is not only capable of making her world and worldview reappear in detail so present that it envelopes us as we enter her photographs, but she does so with the technical skill of an artist who knows that the image is the world and not merely a representation of it, though we cannot help but see everything anew through her eyes. It will thus be of little surprise, too, that Sally Mann's name carves out its space on the list of the greatest artists ever. Join us for an evening celebrating and investigating her past, present, and future work, as the DePaul Humanities Center is honored to welcome, and be in conversation with, Sally Mann.
http://events.depaul.edu/event/sally_mann#.Uu8t4neVk0Z