Weekly Calendar

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'Zippy Cartoonist Bill Griffith to Give Slide Talk

Bill Griffith

Cartoonist Bill Griffith, creator of "Zippy the Pinhead," will give a slide talk on the Homewood campus on Thursday, April 19. The lecture, "Up from the Underground With Zippy: 38 Years and Still Climbing," will take place at 5:30 p.m. in Room 101 of the Mattin Center's F. Ross Jones Building.

Griffith's appearance marks the sixth annual Spring Visiting Artist's Lecture at the Mattin Center, sponsored by the Homewood Art Workshops and Homewood Arts Programs.

Along with such cartoonists as Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Kim Deitc and Gilbert Shelton, Griffith was part of the underground comics movement of the late 1960s. His first "Zippy" strip appeared in Real Pulp #1 in 1970, went weekly in 1976 and was syndicated nationally by Rip Off Press until 1980, when Griffith took over syndication duties himself.

Five years later, The San Francisco Examiner asked him to do "Zippy" six days a week, and in 1986 King Features Syndicate took the daily strip to a national audience. Sunday color strips began running in 1990. Today, "Zippy" appears in more than 200 newspapers worldwide, including The Baltimore Sun.

Based in part on the "pinheads" in Tod Browning's classic 1932 horror film, Freaks, the character Zippy is a microcephalic clown in a polka-dotted muumuu. In addition to the uncommon shape of their heads, people with microcephaly are known for their childlike personalities and rapid-fire speech. "Their scrambled attention spans struck me as a metaphor for the way we get our doses of reality these days," Griffith has said, "[with] the kind of fractured, short-term information overload that we're all exposed to every day."

Griffith's work has been translated into a dozen foreign languages, collected in two dozen anthologies and featured in publications ranging from National Lampoon to The New Yorker. Zippy has been the subject of several doctoral dissertations and also has been cited as the inspiration for the Coneheads, Saturday Night Live's late-1970s recurring characters.

And although numerous people claim to have created it, the phrase "Are we having fun yet?" was first uttered by Zippy in the mid-1970s and has been immortalized in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. "It is an expression of the American existential dilemma, of anxiousness," Griffith said. "The phrase is supposed to be satirical, but lots of people don't see the subtext."

 

Colloquia

Mon., April 16, 3 p.m. "The Role of the Dissertation in the Scientific Communication of Early Modern Europe," a History of Science, Medicine and Technology colloquium with Kevin Chang, Academia Sinica, Taipei; 3505 N. Charles Street. HW

Tues., April 17, 4 p.m. "Constructivism, Facts, and Moral Justification," a Philosophy colloquium with Samuel Freeman, University of Pennsylvania; 348 Gilman. HW

Tues., April 17, 4:15 p.m. "Density-Functional-Based Simulation of Molecular Magnets and Light Harvesting Molecules," a Chemistry colloquium with Mark Pederson, Naval Research Laboratory; 233 Remsen. HW

Wed., April 18, noon. "Obama, Sharpton and the Politics of Immigrant Difference in the United States," a Political Science colloquium with Victoria Hattam, New School for Social Research; 366 Mergenthaler. HW

Wed., April 18, 3:30 p.m. "Feedback From Starburst and Active Galaxies Over Cosmic Time," an STScI colloquium with Crystal Martin, University of California, Santa Barbara; STScI Auditorium. HW

Thurs., April 19, 3 p.m. "Builders and Users: The Royal Academy of Sciences and the Construction of the Paris Observatory," a History of Science, Medicine and Technology colloquium with Katherine Reinhart, KSAS; 3505 N. Charles Street. HW

Thurs., April 19, 3:45 p.m. "Morphology in the Decomposing Brain: Correlational Analyses of Single Trial MEG Data," a Cognitive Science colloquium with Alec Marantz, New York University; 134A Krieger. HW

 

Conference

Fri., April 20, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mid-Atlantic Volunteer Conference — "Education and Volunteerism," a JH Center for Social Concern conference with keynote speaker Maggie McIntosh, Md. House of Delegates. Learn about regional volunteer opportunities and network with students and staff. Lunch will be provided. Co-sponsored by the Naval Academy Midshipman Action Group. Great Hall, Levering. HW

 

Discussion/Talks

Mon., April 16, 7 p.m. "Conversations in Medicine," a discussion with Kristy Weber, SoM. Sponsored by Preprofessional Programs and Advising. 111 Mergenthaler. HW

Tues., April 17, noon. The Bloomberg Leadership Series and Leadership Lunch, with Morgan O'Brien, founder of Nextel Communications and Cyren Call Communications. Advance registration is required; go to http://commprojects.jhsph.edu/communications/Event_Signup.c fm?event_id=106. E2030 SPH. EB

Wed., April 18, 12:15 p.m. "Human Subjects Protection — A Site Perspective," an Institutional Review Board roundtable discussion with Chris Beyrer, SPH; Nick Ialongo, SPH; and John Hylton, SPH; W3030 SPH. EB

Mon., April 23, 2 p.m. Pre-Health discussion about the Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine, with associate director of admissions Elizabeth Brooks. Sponsored by Preprofessional Programs and Advising. 160 Mattin Center. HW

 

Lectures

Mon., April 16, 8:15 a.m. The William M. Shelley Memorial Lecture — "Osteosarcoma of Bone: 100 Years' Experience at Mayo Clinic" by K. Krishnan Unni, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine; Hurd Hall Memorial Auditorium. EB

The 2007 Ernst Cloos Memorial Lectures by Robert Bodnar, Virginia Tech. Sponsored by Earth and Planetary Sciences. Olin Auditorium. HW

Mon., April 16, 4 p.m. "From the Clouds to the Core: A Holistic View of the Whole Earth Water Cycle."

Tues., April 17, noon. "Applications of Melt Inclusions in Igneous Petrogenesis."

Wed., April 18, noon. "Fluids, Deformation and Geophysics."

Tues., April 17, 1 p.m. "EndNote X: No Longer Limited to the Desktop," a Welch Library lecture by Cindy Sheffield; West Lecture Hall, WBSB. EB

Tues., April 17, 3 p.m. "Pioneers in Science," a Graduate Student Association lecture by Martin Markowitz, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center; Mountcastle Auditorium, PCTB. EB

Tues., April 17, 3:30 p.m. The Chesapeake Biological Laboratories Lecture — "Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels: Molecular Machines for Electrical Signaling in Health and Disease" by William Catterall, University of Washington. Sponsored by Biological Chemistry. WBSB Auditorium (ground floor). EB

Tues., April 17, 4 p.m. The Second Annual Patrick Henry Lecture — "A Scottish Descent: The Origin of American Politics" by historian and author Arthur Herman. (See story, "Author to discuss Scots' contribution to American politics," in this issue.) Sponsored by History. 210 Hodson. HW

Tues., April 17, 5:15 p.m. "Translating Derrida," a German and Romance Languages and Literatures lecture by Hans-Joerg Rheinberger, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science; 223 Gilman. HW

Tues., April 17, 5:30 p.m. "William Foxwell Albright Annual Lecture — "Forgotten Legacy: Recovering the Temple Libraries of Ancient Egypt" by Kim Ryholt, University of Copenhagen. Co-sponsored by Near Eastern Studies and the Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Foundation. 205 Krieger. HW

Wed., April 18, 4 p.m., and Fri., April 20, 8 a.m. "Standard Operating Procedures for Unidentified Substances or Powders," an Office of Emergency Management panel discussion with Howard Gwon, JHH; John Schaefer, SoM; George Economas, JHH; and Pat Rosenbaum, JHH; 1-191 Meyer. EB

Thurs., April 19, 1 p.m. "Hannah Arendt and C.L.R. James on the Meaning of the Political and the Social," a Center for Africana Studies lecture by Paget Henry, Brown University; 113 Greenhouse. HW

Thurs., April 19, 5 p.m. "Foreknowledge and Hindsight: A Few Cases in Renaissance Painting," a History of Art lecture by Al Acres, Georgetown University; Smokler Center. HW

Fri., April 20, 11 a.m. "How Turbulent Mixing Affects Circulation in the Chesapeake Bay," a CEAFM lecture by Ming Li, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; 110 Maryland. HW

 

Music

Tues., April 17, 8 p.m. Peabody Artist Recital with alums Qian Zhou and Thomas Hecht of Singapore's Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music. $18 general admission, $10 for senior citizens, $8 for students with ID. Friedberg Hall. Peabody

Thurs., April 19, 5:30 p.m. The JHMI Chamber Music Society presents its annual spring concert. Sponsored by the Office of Cultural Affairs. Hurd Hall. EB

Fri., April 20, 8 p.m. Joint performance by the Peabody Concert Orchestra, the Peabody Singers and the Peabody Chorus. $18 general admission, $10 for senior citizens, $8 for students with ID. Friedberg Hall. Peabody

Sat., April 21, 7:30 p.m. The Peabody Jazz Orchestra performs compositions by Charles Mingus. $18 general admission, $10 for senior citizens, $8 for students with ID. (4 p.m. A free informal concert will take place before the concert at Maestro's Cafe Annex, 11 Centre Street). East Hall. Peabody

Sun., April 22, 4 p.m. Recital by organist Donald Sutherland. $18 general admission, $10 for senior citizens, $8 for students with ID. Griswold Hall. Peabody

Sun., April 22, 8 p.m. Ketzev performs Hebrew and American a cappella music. Mudd Auditorium. HW

 

Seminars

Mon., April 16, noon. "Carbonate Mineralization and Microbial Diversity: Driving Influences in Hot Springs and Coral Reefs," an Earth and Planetary Sciences seminar with Bruce Fouke, University of Illinois; Olin Auditorium. HW

Mon., April 16, 12:15 p.m. "Cell Fusion of Mating Yeast," a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Eric Grote, SPH; Rose Auditorium, 3520 San Martin Drive. HW

Mon., April 16, 3:30 p.m. "Healthcare for Older Persons With Chronic Illness: Are Changes Needed in Our Systems of Care?" a Center on Aging and Health seminar with Albert Siu, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. Co-sponsored by the JHU Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. Suite 2-700, 2024 E. Monument St. EB

Mon., April 16, 4 p.m. "Cell-Cycle Regulation of the Oocyte-to-Zygote Transition in C. elegans," a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology seminar with Geraldine Seydoux, SoM; W2030 SPH. EB

Mon., April 16, 4 p.m. "New Thoughts on England's War of Religion," a History seminar with Tim Harris, Brown University; 315 Gilman. HW

Mon., April 16, 4 p.m. "Dispersive Equations and Hyperbolic Orbits," an Analysis seminar with Hans Christianson, University of California, Berkeley; 308 Krieger. HW

Mon., April 16, 4 p.m. "Electrostatics in Ligand Binding and Design," a Biophysics seminar with Bruce Tidor, MIT; 111 Mergenthaler. HW

Tues., April 17, noon. "Working With Parents in Community-Based Participatory Research," a Health, Behavior and Society seminar with Caryn Rodgers, Kellogg Community Health Scholars. Co-sponsored by the Urban Health Institute. 208 Hampton House. EB

Tues., April 17, 4 p.m. "Random Polynomials and Polynomial Approximation," a Complex and Algebraic Geometry seminar with Thomas Bloom, University of Toronto; 302 Krieger. HW

Tues., April 17, 4 p.m. "The Windmill Theatre, Erotic Display and Middlebrow Culture in London, 1932-1942," a Women, Gender and Sexuality seminar with Judith Walkowitz, KSAS; 117 Greenhouse. HW

Wed., April 18, noon. "Speciation and Bioavailability of Trace Metals in Freshwaters," a Geography and Environmental Engineering seminar with Laura Sigg, EAWAG, Switzerland; 316 Hodson. HW

Wed., April 18, 12:15 p.m. "Frontal-Striatal Dysfunction and Functional Disability Amongst Healthy Older Adults and People With Parkinson's Disease: Suggestions for a Common Cognitive Pathway," a Mental Health seminar with James Williams, SPH; B14B Hampton House. EB

Wed., April 18, 12:15 p.m. "Community Health Centers: Serving the Poor and Underserved for Over 40 Years," a SOURCE seminar with Kyu Rhee, Baltimore Medical Systems; W3008 SPH. EB

Wed., April 18, 1:30 p.m. "Microscopic Wear on Fossil Teeth: Insights From Life's Little Abrasions," a Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry seminar with Mark Teaford, SoM; 517 PCTB. EB

Wed., April 18, 4 p.m. "Discovering New Drug Targeting Sites on Flexible Multi-Domain Protein Kinases," a Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences seminar with Thomas Harris, University of Miami School of Medicine; West Lecture Hall (ground floor), WBSB. EB

Wed., April 18, 4 p.m. "Government Service: Challenges and Opportunities," an Institute for Policy Studies seminar with Paul Volcker, former chair, U.S. Federal Reserve. Part of the Revitalizing Government discussion seminar series. Eisenhower Room, Johns Hopkins Club. HW

Wed., April 18, 4 p.m. " 'Why Not for These Spoliations?' Federal Compensation for Private Property Lost in the War of 1812," an American History first-year presentation seminar with Craig Hollander, KSAS; 315 Gilman. HW

Wed., April 18, 4:30 p.m. "Sieve Method for Shifted Convolution Sums of Hecke Eigenvalues," a Number Theory seminar with Roman Holowinsky, Institute for Advanced Study; 304 Krieger. HW

Thurs., April 19, 10:30 a.m. "Copyright vs. Community in the Age of Computer Networks," a Computer Science seminar with Richard Stallman, GNU Operating System; 3 Shaffer. HW

Thurs., April 19, 11 a.m. "Reaction Engineering Classics in Post-Genomic Biotechnology," a Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering seminar with Wei-Shou Hu, University of Minnesota; 110 Maryland. HW

Thurs., April 19, noon. "Regulation of Actin Dynamics in Cell Protusion," a Cell Biology seminar with Gaudenz Danuser, Scripps Research Institute; Suite 2-200, 1830 Bldg. EB

Thurs., April 19, 4 p.m. "Calcium Signaling in the Cardiac Dyad," an Applied Mathematics and Statistics seminar with Raimond Winslow, SoM; 304 Whitehead. HW

Thurs., April 19, 4 p.m. "'Will You Give Me Your Opinion?': Health, Beauty and Bodily Manipulation in the Conversazione of the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, 1860-1875," a European History first-year presentation seminar with Jess Clark; 315 Gilman. HW

Thurs., April 19, 4 p.m. "Role of Visual Pigment Properties in Photoreceptor Function," a Biology seminar with Vladimir Kefalov, Washington University; 100 Mudd. HW

Fri., April 20, 11 a.m. "Adhesion and Friction of Surfaces: Recent Nano- and Micro-Scale Studies on the Transition From Liquid-Like to Solid-Like Behavior," a Materials Science and Engineering special seminar with Jacob Israelachvili, University of California, Santa Barbara; 109 Maryland. HW

Fri., April 20, noon. "Between Slavery and Mastery: The Problem of Freedom in Olaudah Equino's Interesting Narrative," a Center for Africana Studies seminar with Stefan Wheelock, University of Pittsburgh; 315 Gilman. HW

Fri., April 20, noon. "The Galileo Thermometer and Yo-Yo Mode of Mantle Convection: Reginald Daly Had It Right," an Earth and Planetary Sciences seminar with Don Anderson, Caltech; Olin Auditorium. HW

Fri., April 20, 12:15 p.m. "Aurora B Phosphorylates Multiple Sites on MCAK to Spatially and Temporally Regulate Its Function," a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar seminar with Xin Zhang, Indiana University; Rose Auditorium, 3520 San Martin Drive. HW

Mon., April 23, noon. "Mechanisms of Air-Sea CO2 Flux Variability in the North Atlantic," an Earth and Planetary Sciences seminar with Galen McKinley, University of Wisconsin; Olin Auditorium. HW

Mon., April 23, 12:15 p.m. "Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Adult Neural Stem Cells and Neurogenesis," a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Hongjun Song, SoM; Rose Auditorium, 3520 San Martin Drive. HW

Mon., April 23, 4 p.m. The David Bodian Seminar in Neuroscience — "DARPA's Approach to Advancing Science" with Geoffrey Ling, DARPA Defense Sciences Office. Sponsored by Krieger Mind/Brain Institute. 338 Krieger. HW

Mon., April 23, 4 p.m. "Hex3-Slx8: A Ubiquitin Ligase Involved in DNA Repair and Stimulated by Substrate Sumolyation," a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology seminar with Oliver Kerscher, College of William and Mary; W2030 SPH. EB

Mon., April 23, 4 p.m. "The American Agent in His Majesty's Secret Service: Espionage, Policy Formation and Geopolitical Imagination in the Age of Revolution," a History seminar with Leonard Sadosky; 315 Gilman. HW

 

Special Events

Bioethics Week, sponsored by the Kirk Family Foundation and the Berman Institute of Bioethics. Various locations. To RSVP for events or for more information, go to www.bioethicsinstitute.org. The following are highlights of the week's events:

Mon., April 16, 6 p.m. Screening of Gattaca, part of the Berman Institute's Reel Film Festival. Sherwood Room, Levering. HW

Tues., April 17, noon. The Annual Shallenberger Lecture — "Urban Bioethics: Facing the Unique Challenges in Clinical Decision Making in Inner City Medical Centers" by Alan Fleischman, New York Academy of Medicine. Co-sponsored by the JH Medical Ethics Committee and Consultation Service; Hurd Hall. EB

Tues., April 17, 2:30 p.m. "Nanotechnology in Medicine and Biosecurity: Dilemmas for Bioethics, Public Health Law and International Human Rights," with Tom Faunce, College of Law and Medical School, Australian National University. Co-sponsored by the Center for Law and the Public's Health. 688 Hampton House. EB

Tues., April 17, 5 p.m. Screening of The Constant Gardener, followed by discussion. Public Health and Nursing students encouraged to attend. Come early for pizza! Carpenter Room, Anne M. Pinkard Bldg. EB

Thurs., April 19, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. "Enhancing Interventions to Support Health Communication and Decision Making: Theory, Research and Process," with keynote address by Julie Downs, Carnegie Mellon University. Other speakers are Penny Pierce, University of Michigan; Marie Nolan, SoN. Co-sponsored by the Center for Collaborative Intervention Research, and Health, Behavior and Society. The workshop will also feature a funding panel from the NIH/NINR and American Cancer Society, as well as research interest discussion groups. Register at www.son.jhmi.edu/research/ccir/news. Mountcastle Auditorium, PCTB. EB

Thurs., April 19, 7 p.m. Special performance of The Power of Wit, with Megan Cole, and a post-performance discussion with Hopkins experts. Reservations required. (See story, "'Power of Wit' brought to BMA by Berman Institute of Bioethics".) Sponsored by the Robert H. Levi Leadership Program. Baltimore Museum of Art.

Fri., April 20, 8 a.m. "Meeting the Moral Challenges to Health Care in the 21st Century," Medicine Grand Rounds with Sen. Ben Cardin; Hurd Hall. EB

Tues., April 17, 6:30 p.m. "Rules of Engagement," a chance for the senior class to learn social and business etiquette while enjoying an elegant three-course meal; hosted by Dean Paula Burger. Business attire is requested. Sponsored by Student Involvement. $10. Grand Ballroom, Charles Commons. HW

Tues., April 17, 7:30 p.m. "Why Are Our Brains So Complex?" a lecture by Benjamin Carson, SoM. Part of the Voyage and Discovery lecture series. 1 Remsen. HW

Thurs., April 19, 4 p.m. The 30th Annual Young Investigators Day. (See story, "Young investigators honored," in this issue.) Mountcastle Auditorium, PCTB. EB

Thurs., April 19, 5:30 p.m. "Up From the Underground With Zippy: 38 Years and Still Climbing," a slide talk by cartoonist Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead. (See above.) Sponsored by Homewood Art Workshops and Homewood Arts Programs. 101 Mattin Center. HW

Sat., April 21, 1 to 4 p.m. Historic Homewood Artwalk, a chance to discover the history of the landscape connecting the collections of American decorative arts at Homewood Museum and the BMA. Guided tours depart at 1 p.m. from Homewood Museum and 2 p.m. from the BMA. For reservations, call 410-516-5589. Self-guided brochure available at both museums. HW

 

Sports

Tues., April 17, 4 p.m. Men's Tennis, Blue Jays vs. Haverford; Athletic Center. HW

Wed., April 18, 4 p.m. Women's Tennis, Blue Jays vs. McDaniel; Athletic Center. HW

Thurs., April 19, 3 p.m. Baseball, Blue Jays vs. Messiah; Baseball Field. HW

Fri., April 20, 3:30 p.m. Baseball, Blue Jays vs. Dickinson; Baseball Field. HW

Fri., April 20, 7 p.m. Women's Lacrosse, Blue Jays vs. Northwestern; Homewood Field. HW

Sat., April 21, noon. Men's Tennis, Blue Jays vs. Dickinson; Athletic Center. HW

Sat., April 21, 3 p.m. Men's Lacrosse, Blue Jays vs. Navy. $12 premium seating, $10 reserved, $7 general admission, $5 for groups or children. Homewood Field. HW

Sun., April 22, 1 p.m. Men's Tennis, Blue Jays vs. TCNJ; Athletic Center. HW

 

Symposia

The 2007 Foreign Affairs Symposium; Glass Pavilion, Levering. HW

Tues., April 17, 8 p.m. "International Relations and Human Rights in Iran and the Muslim World" with Azar Nafisi, SAIS.

Fri., April 20, 8 p.m. "The World and Wal-Mart: A Case Study of American Corporate Globalization," a panel discussion.

 

Theater

Sat., April 21, noon, and Sun., April 22, 2 p.m. "Spring Shakespeare," outdoor performances by the JHU Barnstormers; Keyser Quad. HW

 

Workshops and Training

Tues., April 17, 1 p.m. "Introduction to Respondus Exam Software," a Center for Educational Resources workshop with Amy Brusini, CER; and Ian Goh, CMS; Garrett Room, MSE Library. HW

Wed., April 18, noon. "In Search of Juan Espinoso Medrano ('El Lunarejo'): Myth of Man," a Program in Latin American Studies brown-bag student workshop with Martin Carrion, KSAS; 113 Greenhouse. HW

Thurs., April 19, 1 p.m. "Bits and Bytes: Photoshop First Steps," a Center for Educational Re- sources workshop with Reid Sczerba, CER; Garrett Room, MSE Library. HW

 

Colloquia | Conferences | Discussion/Talks | Lectures | Music | Seminars | Special Events | Sports | Symposia | Theater | Workshops and Training

 
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