Date: Wednesday November 11, 2015
Time: 8pm
Location: High Noon Saloon (map)

How Cats are Plotting to Take Over the World… and Succeeding

Summary: Long ago, cats made a decision to leave the natural world and join up with humans to ride the easy food train. OR SO WE THOUGHT! Secretly, cats have been using a well-developed, long-term scheme to not only become the dominant species of the planet but to both subjugate humans and destroy their mortal enemies of birds and mice. Through biological, psychological, and guerilla warfare they are already well on their way to succeeding. The only way we can stop them is by informing the masses of their plot and FIGHTING BACK!

Presenter bio: Lauren Brooks recently graduated with her Master’s in Zoology at UW, in which she investigated the factors influencing mice body size change across islands. From her work in restoration ecology as an undergraduate also at UW, she has a strong passion for debating if any species is truly native to anywhere and promoting a love of prairies. Shes also loves comics, coffee, fantasy football and wrestling with her dog.

 

The Social Life of the Human Voice

Summary: Human beings have an incredible amount of control over how we use our voice, from producing subtle shifts in loudness or pitch to letting loose with a death metal scream. In this talk we’ll learn more about the little bundle of cartilage and muscle that makes these things possible: the larynx. From there, we’ll look at how different uses of the human voice take on social meanings that vary across languages and communities, exploring gendered understandings of vocal pitch, the culturally-sensitive meanings of a whisper or breathy voice, recent panics over young women’s use of “vocal fry,” and more.

Bio: Joshua Raclaw is a postdoc and resident sociolinguist at the Center for Women’s Health Research at UW-Madison, where he studies language and communication processes in scientific grant review panels. He’s also interested in how language works to construct our relationships and identities and the ways that new technology changes how we communicate with one another, and one time he wrote over two-hundred pages on the word ‘no’. In his spare time he enjoys baking, spoiling his cats, and kindling a newfound love of sour beers.

 

Declare Your Allegiance! Differences in Early East Coast and West Coast Hip Hop

Summary: Whether you’re an OG or a just a lower case g, you’re probably at least peripherally aware of an East-West rivalry in the early days of hip hop. How did this rivalry start? And more importantly, what are the differences between the two subgenres that dominated the sound of early hip hop? We’ll explore the history, sounds, and samplings to try and find the answers to these questions and more. And maybe, just maybe, you can drop this knowledge to bump your street cred, or just impress while you’re chillin’ with your boo.

Presenter bio: Greg Flygt is an attorney specializing in business law, contracts, and intellectual property. A lifelong Madisonian, he learned everything he knows about hip hop from the mean streets of the West Side (and The Internet). Besides listening to hip hop, he dabbles in rapping at karaoke, wasting time on Reddit, and always using the Oxford Comma.