If this is starting to sound like Inception, then stay with me, because next week's TEDxEmory event is all about ideas...minus the dream-within-a-dream confusion.

Emory got caught right in the middle of what felt like a hurricane Monday night that knocked down trees and upturned sidewalks all over campus. There were quite a few downed trees in front of the School of Law, including this one in the picture above.

Many students and faculty were left without power in the days following the freak storm. And the roads surrounding campus have been jammed with traffic because of fallen trees and broken traffic lights.

It looks like Emory will have more of a reason to celebrate Arbor Day in a few weeks.

For more photos of downed trees at Emory, check out the Emory Report's Facebook page.

That is, a comedian and an artist or two. But this Dooley's Week, we (the Student Programming Council) got some good ones.

Comedian Donald Glover not only kept me awake Wednesday night after a long few days of working the week's events, but had me laughing to the point of tears. Cliche, I know, but true.

When he first came on stage at Glenn Memorial Auditorium, he asked the audience if anyone watched NBC's Community on which he plays Troy Barnes. After everyone cheered, he said his stand up would be nothing like that.

He went on to tell more than PG-rated jokes to a consistently laughing audience that included his father sitting up in the balcony. He joked about life experiences and interacted with the audience, giving a shout-out to a student after she tweeted for one.

He resurrected Twitter a bit later when he referenced the online controversy about the idea of Glover playing Spider-Man. He especially poked fun at one commentator's comparison that Glover as Spider-Man would be like Michael Cera playing Shaft, a movie Glover said he'd pay to see over and over again.

He ended with a nice little story from his childhood adventure at The Home Depot, but I don't think I would do it justice by retelling it here.

And then Thursday night, SPC and the Residence Hall Association (RHA) didn't "apologize" for co-sponsoring the OneRepublic concert on McDonough Field. Students "stopped and stared" as they performed their set. It was no "secret" that everyone had a good time--and that they played all of their hit singles. (Anymore I can sneak in this post?)

They played a few covers, including a sweet rendition of "Stand by Me" and a fusion of "Seven Nation Army" and "SexyBack."

If you didn't notice, their on-stage lighting was pretty impressive, and that didn't include all of it. Rumor has it--well, the Dooley's Week chairs said--that we had to tell the band to withhold some of their lighting because our stage couldn't take all that weight.

So if you missed either of those two acts, we've got one more tonight: Dooley's Ball, featuring Milkman, a mash-up artist otherwise known as Gregg Luskin. If you're thinking Girl Talk circa 2010 Dooley's Ball, then I'd say you have a pretty good idea of what tonight will be like.

And if you haven't heard, the ball's going to be on McDonough Field, not the WoodPEC as originally planned. (We got DeKalb County to ease up on its noise ordinance rules for tonight.)

Remember, it's a costume ball. Dress accordingly.

Photos by Stacy Perlis 11B

--Lindsey Bomnin 12C, EAA communications intern

When 15 restaurants serving delicious food line Asbury Circle on a sunny Monday afternoon, I like to call that the "Taste of Emory," and the biggest one ever at that.

Stationed as a restaurant "ambassador" to DBA Barbecue for the whole event, the first of Dooley's Week, I inhaled the enticing scent of barbecue, while students lined up for the grub. And after a few napkin-, plate-, and fork-runs, I was rewarded with my own plate of pulled pork, baked beans, and potato salad.

To the right at the El Original Taco stand, they were serving pork carnitas tacos, and further down, Twain's was serving fried macaroni and cheese balls with bacon bits inside. I can almost taste it as I'm writing it down.

And to the left of DBA, Figo Pasta was serving a variety of bruschetta (my favorite had goat cheese on top), and further down toward Cox Bridge, Violette Restaurant whipped up a generous display of French desserts like éclairs. And all of that doesn't even cover half of the restaurants that came out to serve their specialties.

Once a year, skeletons creep all over campus. Once a year, a dug-up coffin sits ominously in front of the Dobbs University Center (DUC) sign on Asbury Circle. Once a year, Lord James W. Dooley springs (sort of) to life to frolic around campus letting students out of their classes.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alumni of all ages, Cirque Dool'ey is coming to town, and it's going to be the greatest week of Earth!

Months of hard work, planning, and organization by the Student Programming Council (SPC), myself included, will finally come to fruition this week. About 1,500 shirts have been rolled and are ready to be given out (keeping eye contact is key). Hundreds of flyers have been posted all over campus. And SPC will be offering elephant rides all throughout Dooley's Week...just kidding! (No animals were harmed in the planning of Dooley's Week.)

Dooley's Week is coming to town for the greatest week on Earth! Next week marks the start of Emory's annual spirit week in honor of our unofficial skeletal mascot. And alumni are invited to Cirque Dool'ey. That's right, it's circus themed.

Enjoy performances throughout the week by The Imperial Opa, featuring all the classic circus acts, like fire eaters, jugglers, and stilt walkers.

Here are a few of the week's events:

Monday, March 21 - Taste of Emory
If you're interested in free food from some of the best restaurants around Atlanta, you'll want to attend the third annual Taste of Emory. This year we have a record-breaking number of restaurants. You can sneak a peek of participating restaurants on the Student Programming Council's (SPC) web page. Don't forget to register online for this tasty event.

Wednesday, March 23 - Comedian Donald Glover
Comedian Donald Glover of NBC comedy series Community will make you laugh next Wednesday night. Though he's best known for his role as community college student Troy Barnes in the series, we hear Glover's stand up comedy is on the rise.

Thursday, March 24 - One Republic Concert
Co-sponsored by the Residence Hall Association (RHA) and SPC, One Republic will be performing on McDonough Field. No need to "Apologize" if you're not familiar with the band. One Republic is a rock/pop band from Colorado Springs, CO, known for their singles "Stop and Stare" and "Secrets."

You can read more about Dooley's Week here and register for all of these events online.

--Lindsey Bomnin, EAA communications intern

See the photos from Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database.

One thing that consistently amazes me about Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database is that no matter how much you surf through the site, no matter how much you read about the groundbreaking program, you always learn something new.

The thing that sticks out in my mind from Tuesday night’s Voyages event at the Carter Center is one of the voyages itself. For those of you unfamiliar with Voyages, please visit its website or our review of the EAA’s Voyages event in Washington, DC, in November 2009. I’ll wait.

OK.

During his 30-minute presentation, David Eltis, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of History and the founder of the database, guided the evening’s 160 guests on a journey through the site, and one of the places he stopped stuck in my mind.

Eltis pointed out Voyage No. 36990, the database’s final documented landing of a slave ship in the United States. The Clotilda docked in Mobile, AL with 110 captives onboard in 1860.

Many of the descendants of the slaves taken from that ship live in the Mobile area.

The importation of slaves became illegal in the United States in 1808, more than 50 years earlier. I’m not sure if I’m more stunned that the slave trade in North America continued so deep into the 19th century or that there was a record of the landing. I mean, if I’m going to do something illegal, I’m not going to write it down.

However, in this case, I’m glad that someone did. It puts a nice, boldface checkmark in a box that reads “Things we must never let happen again.”

Eltis made other memorable points. “What do we make of U.S. owners in the lead up to American independence who named their slave ships, ‘Liberty’? And after independence, ‘The Fourth of July’?” he said.

A fine question.

The evening’s subject matter was serious, no question, but the atmosphere was anything but gloomy. Eltis' presentation was bookended by vibrant receptions that not only included electronic tours of the website (such as the self-guided one being taken by Octavius White and Nya Karanga 03PH), but food that encouraged third and fourth visits to the table.

Other highlights included a welcome from President Jim Wagner and a reading by Kevin Young, Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing. Young, whose dramatic presentation of two poems, “Westville” and “Con” from his latest collection, Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels, was noteworthy for its drama (which was palpable) and its subject matter (the aftermath of the famous mutiny aboard the slave ship Amistad).

Voyages, and its follow-up, African Origins, are constantly evolving, just as the conversation about slavery in the U.S. and its aftermath does as well. I’m already looking forward to Voyages’ return. I'm just wondering what I’ll learn next.

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA

My mom likes to tell me stories of how, before I was born, she and my dad would frequently host “open houses.” They’d invite all their friends over one weekend afternoon, they could come and go as they pleased, sample the food and drinks (which my parents provided), wander from room to room and conversation to conversation, listen to the music (probably blasting from our wood-paneled, sofa-sized record player/stereo), and generally hang out with the purpose of escaping life’s drudgeries in the company of friends. It’s a fun story to hear and it tells me one thing about my parents.

They were a lot more fun before I came around.

But perhaps more important than my familial transitions, and definitely more relevant to you, is that open houses are a great time. Like the Miller-Ward open house the Emory Alumni Association (EAA) hosted on Saturday, February 19.

The open house was the first major public event announcing the Miller-Ward Alumni House’s availability as a center for weddings, receptions, business meetings, and other special events for members of the Emory community.

For more information about how to reserve Miller-Ward for your event or to schedule a tour, send an email to millerwardhouse@emory.edu or call 404.727.6400.

Like my parents’ open houses of years past, our friends (all of whom received a Miller-Ward gift/information bag for attending … if you’d like one of your own, email us ... again at millerwardhouse@emory.edu) roamed throughout, embracing the friendly atmosphere with every step. Our guests were diverse, too: prospective brides (and their parents) checking out the facility and how it would sparkle in photos; alumni scouting the roominess of our rooms—state-of-the-art yet elegant—mentally determining their functionality; and even a handful of students made their first trip to the house, which, upon graduation, will be their home away from home as Emory alumni.

The Will Scruggs Jazz Fellowship jammed throughout the two-hour event (no record player in sight), and a host of vendors kept glasses and plates full with a variety of tasty, nourishing samples, all of which are available to customers. They include: Affairs to Remember Catering, Atlanta Wholesale Wine, Big Boat Wine Company, Carole Parks Catering, Classic Party Rentals, Masterpiece Events, National Distributing Company, Nicole’s Events, and Peachtree Tents.

I staffed the registration table and did my share of wandering myself. I’ve worked at Miller-Ward for more than five years and am constantly amazed at how the facility transforms itself depending on what it needs to be. The house can go from elegant (fancy tablecloths and ornate flower arrangements have rarely looked better than at Miller-Ward) to businesslike literally in hours.

Sometimes, like on Saturday afternoon, it’s both. Governor’s Hall, the focal point of all the action, was the inviting, ornate-yet-comfortable centerpiece it always is, and our upstairs meeting rooms were both professional and stylish. Even our new upstairs bridal suite is a shining star. And I must admit that, yes, I stood in front of the bridal suite’s huge mirror more than once just to see if my shirt was tucked in right (one time, it wasn’t and the necessary adjustments were made).

All in all, it was a remarkably successful afternoon.

That evening, after I got home, I called my mom to update her on my weekend and I mentioned working the Miller-Ward open house.

“You know, your dad and I used to hold open houses all the time, I’ve told you that, right?” she said. It’s not that my mom has any memory issues, please don’t think that. She just likes family stories.

“You have,” I said. “But not for a while. What were they like?”

-- Eric Rangus, director of communications, EAA

Today's Wonderful Wednesday featured a whole lot of pink. Besides Valentine's Day being less than a week away, Emory groups were supporting breast cancer awareness and research as part of the annual Think Pink week.

Student athletes and members from the Student Programming Council (SPC) sold pink scarves and bow ties to students to raise money for breast cancer research at the Winship Cancer Institute.

This all leads up to the Pink Tie Affair Saturday, February 12, for a sock-hop-themed night of food, music, and dancing. Scarves and bow ties will again be sold at the event.

Sunday, we'll be cheering on the women's basketball team during their annual Think Pink game at 2:00 p.m. at the WoodPec. The Eagles face the University of Chicago.

You can read more about the week's Think Pink events in the Emory Report.