This is how I'll be spending my Friday night ...

That's OK. My position on the staff of the Emory Alumni Association (EAA) frequently grants me access to some spectacular events I'd miss otherwise.

Tonight's Emory Medal ceremony honors Henry Bowden Jr. 74L and Arthur Keys Jr. 92T. You can read more about the recipients in Emory Report. The medal is the highest University honor given exclusively to alumni, and the EAA takes it very seriously.

Medalists are literally the best we have to offer, and they have earned a celebration worthy of their great contributions to our community.

We've been planning the ceremony for months ... especially my co-workers Leslie Wingate 82C and Missy Rodil, and EAA volunteer Tom Brodnax 65Ox 68C (none of whom know I'm mentioning them here, so please don't say anything) ... and there's always a certain relief that washes over you once the ceremony evening arrives. Of course, that certain relief is preceded by many, many instances of stress that when channeled properly can help a person bend steel with their bare hands.

The ceremony begins tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Cox Hall, and it's black-tie optional. I like the optional part. I mean ... I'm happy when my shirt and tie match (not always an easy thing when I'm picking out clothes in a poorly lit condo). When you're wearing a tux, I guess it's not difficult to match, but prom was such a long time ago.

Anyway, I'm just finishing up here in the office and will head over to campus in just a little bit to set up.

I'll be back either after the event tonight or on Saturday morning to let you know how things went.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA

Back in May 2008, the Emory Alumni Association hosted a social at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. More than 500 alumni came out to celebrate and wrap up the 2007-08 academic year. Coming just two weeks before Commencement, the event was a perfect way to introduce graduating seniors to alumni life ... and to a lot of fish.

Emory's Atlanta Young Alumni typically can be found mixing and mingling at the newest hot spot or local sporting event. But this past Saturday, October 24, you could find us in a cemetery.

That's right. In the spirit of Halloween, as well as a love for Emory's hometown, we ventured to Historic Oakland Cemetery in Grant Park for their annual tour. Picture something a' la "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" meets an afternoon at SweetWater in the 1880s.

Greeted by a gentleman decked out in 19th century garb, we were left to our own devices to walk the grounds until we stumbled upon a mini fair of beer, hot cider, and--who would have guessed--corn dogs! Being unseasonably cold (and we Emory folk dress to impress without concern for the weather), it was a nice surprise to find hot drink and beer to make you forget about the cold a bit.

Our group was led by a guide also donning 1800s-inspired regalia. We visited six specific grave sites. At each, an actor shared a monologue about the life and death of his or her character underground. Mixed with a bit of humor and a lot of history, we all enjoyed getting the back story on what lies beneath (or above, in the case of the sarcophagi and mausoleums).

After a couple hours (and some severely numb extremities), we headed to Six Feet Under across the street to warm up and enjoy some great food...mostly fried, of course. This event was a definite departure from a typical Young Alumni event, but was well worth bearing the cold for.

For anyone who's yet to go, I'd recommend a visit during normal daytime hours until the next nighttime tour. One tidbit we learned: fellow Emory alumnus Bobby Jones 27L rests there. Bring a camera, perhaps some paper, and charcoals (who doesn't love those childhood memories of making headstone etchings?), and I'll see you there!

-- Darrah Brustein 06C, co-chair, Atlanta Young Alumni Board

Emory doesn’t have many alumni in Italy (yet!) so our chapter in Milan is really more "Emory and Friends"

By "friends" I mean people who have connections to Emory either as parents of current students (like my husband and me), guidance counselors at the international schools who recommend Emory to their best students, Emory exchange students doing a semester abroad in Italy, and Italian students who did a semester at Emory.

Brainstorming at an Emory and Friends dinner last fall, we were trying to come up with a worthwhile event for Emory Cares International Service Day that would make an impact and still work within the constraints of the Italian system.

Kim Barton, the Dean of the International School, came up with the idea of a pasta drive for Padre Beccaro, a school dedicated to serving the immigrant community’s children in Milan (above). Everyone loved the idea because it was simple and useful. And asking people to donate a package of dried pasta to a good cause was easy.

Now the American School of Milan, the International School of Milan, the Benvenuto Club of Milan (a member of the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas), and the Emory exchange students will all collect pasta, which will be accumulated with a celebration dinner on November 19, then boxed and delivered to the Padre Beccaro School on November 23.

One lady commented to me last week that what we were doing was very nice because it was ... and this was her word ... “democratic.” Even those with very limited means can contribute and not feel that their generosity is insignificant compared to what some other people can give.

They say, “It takes a village….” If so, through Emory Cares, we’ve created our own village of cooperation and community service in Milan.

Click here to learn more about how to get involved and donate pasta for Emory Cares in Milan

-- Irene Gambino, Emory Cares project coordinator, Milan, Italy; Emory parent

The lantern is one of Emory's most enduring symbols. A lantern sits atop the Haygood-Hopkins Gate; another appears on the gonfalon of the James T. Laney Graduate School.

The lantern above is attached to the Anthropology Building.

The Dooley Statue on Asbury Circle has undergone a makeover.

To celebrate tonight's Emory Drag Extravaganza: Transforming Today's Leaders event, students from Emory Pride and possibly these two, turned Lord James W. Dooley into Lady Debbie K. Dooley ("Debbie K." being the first name and middle initial of Mrs. James W. Wagner).

As per Emory tradition, the Spirit of Emory takes on the name of the President. Or in this case, the Mrs. President.

These shadow puppets took over Patterson Green as part of an outdoor performance by the Emory Gamelan Ensemble in 2006. Rooted in the cultural traditions of the Indonesian islands of Bali, Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan, as well as Malaysia, gamelan (a type of ensemble) was originally performed during ceremonies, rituals and religious rites.

The Emory Javanese Gamelan, founded in 1997, consists of 16 to 20 musicians performing on a full set of instruments — both “slendro” and “pelog” tunings — made by Javanese artisans Pak Djumadi and Pak Tentrem.

On September 30, 2006, the puppeteer Midiyanto presented a shadow puppet play, or “wayang kulit,” in collaboration with the ensemble.

We found a disk with these photos on a shelf here at the EAA and wanted to bring the performance back to life. We have a lot of photo disks over here ... who knows what we'll find next ...

It’s the return of one of my favorite EAA events, Seniors at Sweetwater! Only this time less sappy. Looking back to April, I can’t figure out what all the fuss was about. Turns out life after graduation isn’t so bad.

Last night the Class of 2010 and Atlanta Young Alumni gathered at Sweetwater Brewing Company for some seasonal brews. I figured the recently cold weather would keep people away, but after about an hour or so things really picked up. All in all, about 150 seniors and alumni showed up to pass the evening with pizza and beer.

Yes, pizza.

The addition of Maddio’s Pizza to the event couldn’t have been more perfectly planned.

Sweetwater had all of their fall beers on tap, providing quite a delicious lineup. My favorite was the charmingly named “Wet Dream” beer from the Dank Tank series. You’ve got to give Sweetwater credit; they have some clever, albeit inappropriate, names for their beers. Motor Boat is another fall favorite with a little bit more to the name.

We spent most of our time people-watching, noting with a little sadness that we knew very few seniors who were there, and that we’ve officially become old. And yes, I say that in the “we’re actually not old, but like to complain that we are" kind of way that comes with still being jealous we’re not in college any more.

Obnoxious, I know, but it’s all we’ve got.

Of course, there were some familiar faces in the crowd and several of the other alumni were friends that I brought along, so all in all everyone had a great time.

Except for the band. They were set up outside in the cold (hey, 33 degrees at night is cold in my book) and as it got dark the few brave souls who had ventured outside left them to fend for themselves. I hope they eventually came inside to enjoy the evening as well.

Being an alumna isn’t too bad after all--my pre-graduation anxiety about leaving Emory seems to have been for nothing. The EAA does a good job of making sure there are enough events to give everyone a chance to reminisce about the good old days--even if they were only a few months ago.

And I’m not just saying that because I work here.

-- Kelley Quinn 08B, coordinator, Emory Alumni Board

As member of the Fall Band Party committee of the Student Programming Council, I needed to help prepare Emory for the talented musicians.

-- Lindsey Bomnin 12C, communications assistant, EAA

Who would have thought Bible illustrations from the 16th century would speak to a recovering Hindu from the 21st century? Yet the exhibition opening tomorrow at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, has enough devotion, symbolism, and religious ferment for every persuasion.

Scripture for the Eyes: Bible Illustrations in Netherlandish Prints of the Sixteenth Century presents Dutch and Flemish masters from Lucas van Leyden, Maarten van Heemskerck, and Hieronymus Wierix with loans from important institutions including the British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Antwerp’s Plantin Museum, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Visitors are in for a wonderful treat: virtuosic prints in various styles that inspired great masters, including Rembrandt, who consulted them in later centuries. Eighty woodcuts and engravings literally glow against the claret red walls of the museum’s third-floor galleries, a color the Carlos Museum design team is especially proud of after examining every hue of red possible in the physical world.

I was well aware of the reach of the Bible, having studied parts of the Bible as literature in India, yet I couldn’t have imagined the pivotal role of biblical art during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation movements in Europe. The boom of print publishing houses coincided with the proliferation of biblical texts and images and why was this important? It popularized the word of God through scripture.

Walter Melion, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Art History, and curator of the exhibition, also notes that Antwerp was the center of the production of vernacular Bibles in many languages, including English. In fact, the exhibition includes five rare volumes of the Antwerp Polyglot Bible (in several languages) from the Emory Libraries.


I had quite a few “illuminating experiences.” Wierix’s “Christ in the Wine Press,” invited me to go beyond the image of Christ bleeding into the sacramental wine with God turning the press to fully comprehend Christ’s suffering for all humanity.

Also captivating was Goltzius series called “Life of the Virgin,” where he imitates great masters from Federigo Barocci to Albrecht Dürer, signifying the multiple forms of beauty required to evoke the Virgin’s physical and spiritual perfection. Gorgeous details--some of the lines so exquisitely and finely rendered, the artist could have only done so using a magnifying glass and the slow attentive persistence of true devotion to the subject matter.

Amen.

-- Priyanka Sinha, director of communications & marketing, Carlos Museum

According the Clock Tower at Cox Hall, it's 5 o'clock right here in Atlanta!

We'd love to say that this is a live shot of one of Emory's most recognizable landmarks, but that blue sky in the background kind of gives it away as photo from the archive. Still we like it.

And we miss the blue skies. Those of you in Atlanta know what we're talking about.

Sunny skies or gray, the Clock Tower, which first rose over the center of Emory's Atlanta campus in 1994, is one of the University's iconic symbols. It is officially named the Bill and Betty Robinson Clock Tower, and images of it, both in photographs and in art, are among the University's most popular.

This past weekend was fall break, a time for Emory students to get away.

Many students go home. Others visit friends. Some even do volunteer work or go on mini-vacations.

For my last fall break at Emory (yikes!), my friends and I decided to escape from the city for a few days by heading up north.

Welcome to Blue Ridge, GA, a small historic town nestled in the mountains of north Georgia.

We made our way through the windy dirt roads, and turned into the driveway of our home for the weekend. Here, I was expecting a modest log cabin. But we walked into a three-level, all-wood beauty, fully furnished with plasma TVs, a fireplace, a pool table, and a hot tub.

Less than two hours outside of Atlanta, the hustle and bustle of the city was quickly forgotten. Our Blue Ridge cabin was secluded in the woods, surrounded by an endless expanse of nature. What an out-of-this-world experience for a city girl like myself.

Some of the guys went to the store and came back with a BB gun in tow. Our backyard (can you call the wilderness a backyard?) had a few shooting targets pinned up on trees. We all took shots. Well, I took many. I even hit a few targets. But I might have enjoyed just wearing the yellow-tinted protective glasses more than shooting the gun.

As the sun went down Saturday night, I cuddled up in a wooden rocking chair on the back porch, taking in the cool breeze, nature’s tranquil sounds, and the scenic views of the North Georgia mountains. It was a whole other kind of Georgia, unlike anything I’d seen before.

We cooked up a fire for S’mores (check out all the essentials in the above photo). One fire-roasted marshmallow, plus a hunk of chocolate, plus two graham crackers, equals the most delicious campfire treat.

On Sunday afternoon, after the town was out of church, we strolled along Main Street, enjoying the antique and specialty shops, galleries, restaurants and small-town atmosphere of downtown Blue Ridge. The locals were welcoming and cheery—I really saw some of that Southern charm that we Northerners always hear about.

That evening we had barbeque galore. The “men” grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken for a woodsy dinner on the porch. I could really get used to life in this mountain town.

My few days of retreat were much needed. But I have to say, I was glad to return home. The weekend away reminded me that my days at Emory are soon coming to an end, so I better make the most of them while I can.

-- Cory Lopez 10C, communications intern, EAA

One of the newest features of Robert W. Woodruff Library's Level 1 are the broad strips of whiteboard paint on the main wall facing Jazzman's Cafe. The boards are ostensibly for student notetaking during group meetings, scribbled event invitations, and the like. Occasionally, though, they are used for other purposes. Like this artistic homage to Audrey Hepburn.

New photos from Emory Homecoming Weekend are coming in everyday. We like this one, which features five members of the Class of 1999 on campus for their 10-Year Reunion, celebrating Spirit Day with their new Emory shirts.

We'll have a lot more Spirit Day photos in the November 2009 edition of EmoryWire. If you wore your Emory shirt on Spirit Day, September 26, email a picture to Stacey Gall (sgall@emory.edu), here at the EAA. You might just be in EmoryWire, too.

So it's U2Tuesday (I think that's how that marketing gimmick is spelled) in Atlanta. In just a few hours, the band will be taking the stage at the Georgia Dome as its 360° Tour rolls into our fair city.

The concert is pretty big news among my friends (as well as a lot of Emory staff members and students). Many of them are going to the show, at least if their braggy Facebook status updates are to be believed. (Full disclosure, I'm going, too, and I made sure all my Facebook friends know it ... I claim no moral high ground).

Anyway, it got me thinking. Is there a way to tell Emory's story using only U2 song titles?

Of course there is. Take a look at our collection below. Feel free to add any new ones.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA


A Sort of Homecoming = I love a parade

Acrobat = Enquérir

Bad = These guys. And not in a good way

Beautiful Day = Commencement

City of Blinding Lights = Emory's hometown

Discotheque = This great program

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For = Parking on campus

I Will Follow = Dooley's Entourage

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight = Dooley's Ball

In God's Country = Cannon Chapel

Magnificent = What do you think?

New Year's Day = Freshman move-in

Numb = Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine

October = The Quadrangle

One = Emory volleyball

Pride (In The Name Of Love) = King Week

Staring At The Sun = Emory planetarium

Stay (Faraway, So Close) = The dearly departed Turman Residential Center

Ultra Violet (Light My Way) = Emory lantern

Two Hearts Beat As One = This story

Vertigo = Jones Room, Woodruff Library

Walk On = This tour

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? = Emory Equestrian

Bet you're hungry now.