Assistant professor Sean Eversley-Bradwell is going to give a lecture with one of the most provocative titles that's come across the Rattle desk in quite some time.  It's "Freedom Ride or Die: Barack or the Bullet."

From the Intercom announcement:

"Post racial." "Racially transcendent." "Beyond race." These are just some of the media phrases that have been used to discuss the election of Barack Obama. By examining the one-drop rule and double-consciousness, the talk will map the racial realignment of the 2008 U.S. elections.

Ultimately, the concluding event of the fall DIIS discussion series presents questions about the racial legacy of the U.S. Civil Rights movement and the future of 'race' in the U.S. Please join us for the dialogue.

Event Details

Sean Eversley-Bradwell
"Freedom Ride or Die: Barack or the Bullet"
Klingenstein Lounge, Egbert Hall
Thursday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m.

AIDS Quilt to Be Displayed

Today, the World Health Organization says 39.5 million people around the world have AIDS, yet somehow here in the states it's as though AIDS is only discussed as a tragedy of the 1980s and early 90s to be "commemorated," as though history had locked it safely in the past and had given it symbolic closure.

This quilt exhibition is called a tool for education in the present moment and for the future.

If you want to understand the powerful forces behind this work of art and activism, ask yourself, "Why a quilt?  Why AIDS?"  If you can answer those questions, you yourself are ready to shake the world.

Event Details

Ithaca College Action for AIDS Group
AIDS Memorial Quilt Display
Emerson Suites
Monday and Tuesday, December 1 and 2, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday, December 3, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.


Jeremy Scahill, Scourge of War Profiteers, Coming to Ithaca December 2

One man who has been shaking the world is Jeremy Scahill, correspondent for the Nation and Democracy Now!, whose best-selling book Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army led to congressional investigations into private military contractors working for the United States government.  Catch him leading a discussion on "The Importance of Independent Media in the Era of Conglomerates" in Park Auditorium.

Event Details

Jeremy Scahill
"The Importance of Independent Media in the Era of Conglomerates"
Park Auditorium
Tuesday, December 2, at 7:30 p.m.

Make that the station for elation: 92 WICB has won the mtvU Woodie award for best college radio station in the U.S.

Hells yeah! Props to all the ICB DJs and staff on the big win. May your cups runneth over with rock and/or roll for all eternity.

Check out the glee:

Kinda makes you wish you'd signed up to be a DJ instead of going on that miserable blind date with the shut-in you met on World of Warcraft, eh?

Jeez, I just quoted a Yardbirds song for the title to this post. What am I, 87?

I was just reading about the fairly Draconian hiring practices of the incoming Obama administration, policies made necessary by a) the wretched sensationalism and fomented partisan scandal of American political life in the 21st century, and b) the astounding clumsiness of most people when it comes to managing their online presence.

Put simply, if you've ever sent an e-mail using barnyard similes to describe your ex, or Twittered your NCAA bracket selections to your bookie, you need not apply for work in the new government (there's a very funny piece in Slate today illustrating this matter AND taking a pot shot at those tedious signature files your self-righteous friends love to include with every four-word e-mail about tequila-related illness).

According to America's finest news source, the Onion, one in five employers check out job applicants on networking sites like Facebook before hiring them (other, lesser publications like the Economist and the New York Times also suggest as much). I recognize it's a struggle to keep your hands off your BFF's goodies every time there's a bottle of Jager and a camera in the same room, but the simple fact is the rush to expose oneself to friends and lovers online often leaves you open to scrutiny from those folks you'd rather never knew about your sordid fixations and vices (or, for that matter, your religious and political views, the specifics of your bank account, when your family will be at Aunt Ida's in Winnipeg for two weeks with your house unlocked for the cat sitter, et cetera).

The good people in the Division of Student Affairs and Campus Life have put together a handy guide to keeping your nose clean, your money safe, and your shame well-hidden. The Digital Citizenship guide can't save you from yourself, but it does offer a number of tips for how best to manage your online profile and have a good time staying in touch with friends and family without actually giving the authorities (or potential employers) the impression that your recreational proclivities are Viking in nature.

The folks who create the very tools of your potential digital destruction, the Interwebnetdotcommoners, are also toiling day and night to keep you from self-immolation. Some clever wag at Google recently created Mail Goggles, a program that uses a series of math problems in an effort to impede the dispatching of unfortunate e-mails during those temporary fits of liquid courage-inspired madness at 2 a.m. There has yet to be developed a comparable literary edition for math majors, but it's only a matter of time.

It's a brave new world, kiddies, and the truth is (as we've all learned from Law and Order) whatever you say can and will be used against you. At the same time, if you're clever and use social networking to showcase all the cool things you do (winter break with Habitat for Humanity, for instance), your online presence can definitely work in your favor.

Of course, if you're like me and have no aspirations to work in government, post a bunch of crazy stuff everywhere possible, and then apply for a White House job. I'm guessing the rejection letter will be the sort of thing you'll want to get framed. 

Tis the season for the Cortaca Jug, the gridiron classic between IC and Cortland State that Sports Illustrated once took time off from bikini peddling to call "the biggest little game in America." This year's edition has been sold out since roughly the mid-1970s, so don't even think about going to Cortland without a ticket, lest the local constabulary beat you senseless with your own tinfoil replica trophy.

As the frosh among you may have noticed, the Cortaca Jug is the athletic, social, and (ahem) festive event of the season at Ithaca. Sometimes we win, sometimes it's how we play the game. Since the contest began in 1959, we've won 32 times to their 17, and last year we whomped the everloving snot out of 'em. Then we chased them naked through the Commons while making them sing "Ithaca Forever."

(Okay, I made that last part up. They sang a medley from "High School Musical 2.")

Suffice to say, when Cortland wins it's invariably because the wind was blowing the wrong way, or because our quarterback had rabies, or because the entire IC defensive line was mysteriously imprisoned off the coast of Venezuela for the duration of the game. By default, we're winners, which means they're...well, you can figure it out.

If you're lucky enough/sufficiently insured to already have a ticket in hand (we cannot emphasize this enough), here's what you can expect prior to kickoff on Saturday:

• All seating is general admission -- first-come, first trampled by those who come later.
• No re-entry. Once you leave the stadium, you might as well take in a movie or try out that killer mini-putt course just south of town. Because short of an AIG bailout-sized bribe, you're not getting back in.
• Anyone entering the stadium complex should expect to be "patted down." Which means that anything inside diaper bags, purses, medicine bottles, and threadbare undies is fair game. Be sure to get a receipt if they take your dignity.

Also, pretty much everything except the shirt on your back and (maybe) the song in your heart is prohibited. No booze, no banners or signs on poles, no backpacks or bags, no umbrellas, no coolers, no chihuahuas, no Gummi Bears, no flame throwers, no Lucky Strikes, nada. If it ever seemed essential to the enjoyment of football, just assume you can't bring it into the stadium.

For more information, see the Intercom story.

You'd think with all the rules and hassle that folks would lose interest in the Cortaca Jug, but no. In fact it seems to get more popular every year. At the end of the day, people love hating Cortland as much as they love loving Ithaca. Sure, there's a little pillaging and plundering after the game (mostly at the press box buffet), but Ithaca fans are generally the respectful, decent sort. The game is exciting and the friendly banter between fans makes for an entertaining day out.

So have fun, be respectful toward our hosts (don't break anything but their hearts), play safe, and when we win, remember: it's a long walk back to Ithaca, so don't get lippy with the SUNY parking attendants until you're clear of the lot, and don't flash anything you don't want to show up on Facebook an hour later.

Busy as you are, you might want to take a few minutes to check out the Veterans Day celebration in Ford Hall today at noon. President Rochon will be there and he'll be taking names (okay, I made that up). But he will be speaking, and there will be music, and you can even send a message of appreciation to the vets old and young at the Bath (NY) VA Medical Center.

Check it out: http://www.ithaca.edu/veterans/

True confessions time -- I hate horror movies. Frankly they bore me to tears. The only worthwhile elements for me are the infinite suggestions for how best to chop off my head and disembowel myself so that I don't have to endure another minute of what boosters of the genre amusingly refer to as "acting" and "plot." You want scary? Read a recent edition of the Financial Times and you'll know real fear.

There is, of course, one exception: I love Evil Dead II. And like most people who remember a more innocent time, when scary cinema was really just a comprehensive study of stage props made from whatever was handy on the condiment stand at the commissary, I love it because it is hands down the worst movie ever made. Which lends it a certain dignified charm.

Since a great many of our readers were not yet born when this treasure trove of celluloid crapola belched forth from the underground, it is with great pleasure that I bring you news of its revival in the only form potentially more dreadful/hilarious than the original: Evil Dead: The Musical, which surfaces all bloody and silly tonight and tomorrow at Dillingham Studio 2.

Here's the link, Facebooksters: http://is.gd/6BMe/evildead

You'll want to e-mail this groovy ghoulie to make a reservation for the 11 p.m. show tonight or the 1 a.m. show tomorrow (well, Sunday...you know what I mean).

Oh, and I love this bit: 

"We are using dyed water in this show, so please wear clothing you don't mind getting messed up. We are like 99% sure this won't stain your clothes...though your skin may turn a little pink. We'll have garbage bag ponchos for the front two rows...YAY."

Who are you to resist?

The vending machines at IC never cease to entertain.

Mmm...tastes like turning left....

All around the country last night, Republicans, Democrats, and others gathered to watch the election returns pour in -- and Ithaca College was no exception.

However, most of those parties weren't featured on the home page of CNN.com like Ithaca's!

Chloe Scutt, a sophomore from nearby Dryden, New York, shot some video of the celebration that took place on campus last night. She uploaded it to CNN's "iReport" section; within hours, it was being seen by thousands of CNN.com readers. Chloe tells how it happened: 

"I was sitting in my dorm lounge with friends watching the election coverage and as soon as news broke Obama won, screaming from everywhere started! So my first instinct was to grab my little Casio Exilim camera that I have ... So I take it outside with me to find a huge mob forming around the terraces. Who ever brought out the bagpipes was a genius; everyone followed him down to the Quads, where more and more people joined in. We marched all the way to Textor and just celebrated with chants, singing, etc. ... There HAD to be at least close to 1000 students there all gathered around and watching. As for how long the celebrations lasted, I left around midnight, one AM. I still woke up to screams and celebration though all last night."

Is Chloe one of those diehard Obama supporters that the media loves to play up? Hardly: 

"If I can be completely honest, I did not vote for Obama. I voted for the underdog. Yes, I voted for McCain. No, I am not a registered Republican. I honestly fell right in the middle. I don't like Obama's ideas on Healthcare and welfare programs. I HATE McCain's views on how the economy should be handled, and I do not like Palin, but I love Biden. I was not convinced on either side."

"As for last night, I was so proud to be a student at Ithaca College, no matter who won. I participated with the chants last night. And I believe there were even McCain supporters there too. I'm ready for change, ready for a new era and I think most of the students here on campus are too!"

An integrated marketing communications major in the Park School, Chloe says she wants to work for CNN someday. Looks like she just got a jump start!

Update (5:15 p.m.): While she was in an advertising class today, Chloe got a call from a CNN reporter who interviewed her and other "iReporters" about last night's event. Not bad for someone who's never even uploaded a video to CNN before ...

Read the CNN Article

I realize you're probably overbooked today, what with classes, studying, clubs, team practice, work, and mournful drooling over your unattainable lust object of choice, but I must insist that you consider taking a few minutes to participate in a little thing called democracy. It's easy, it's empowering, and it beats the hell out of not having any choice at all. The Rattle staff all managed to get in and out of their respective polling stations in a matter of minutes today, so don't worry too much about the panic-stricken headlines bemoaning four-hour queues. For some reason the state of New York has figured out what Ohio and Florida can't -- the old lever voting machines work fine, confuse no one, and keep the crowd moving.

This election is historic in so many ways we tend to lose count. But like every election, it offers us the chance to actually cast fortune to the wind and commit to something more significant than the daily "foam or no foam on your latte" decision that haunts every hypercaffeinated American. It's not every day you get to affect the course of world history, but every election in this country has that potential, and perhaps this one more than most. Sure, it's a bit silly that 300 million people can only muster two choices for the highest office in the land, but that's still one more than dozens of national constituencies around the world will ever have. Inform yourself, make a choice, and then bask in the glow of participatory democracy.

Passions tend to run high in a town where political apathy is virtually non-existent, so try to be nice to one another regardless of opinion. If you're looking for constructive stuff to do, Ithaca College is offering all sorts of diversions throughout the day, including voter vans to and from the polls.

Come on, people. No excuses.