Get into the mood for Christmas by joining the Amherst College Choral Society at their annual Christmas Vespers service. Director Mallorie Chernin and Assistant Director Chad Mills '04 lead the choir in performing the music of Morten Lauridsen, Edwin Fissinger, Randall Thompson and others. The Madrigals will also perform. The service will include the singing of traditional Christmas carols together with the congregation and scripture lessons read by members of the College community. (Sun., Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., Johnson Chapel. No admission charge.)
The Black Men's Group of Amherst College will commemorate Charles Hamilton Houston, mentor of Thurgood Marshall and architect of the litigation strategy that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education, by specially inviting Dr. Genna Rae MacNeil of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to lecture about Houston's achievements and legacy. (Sat., Dec. 4 at 8 p.m., Cole Assembly Room. No admission charge.)
Looking for something beyond this material existence? Susan Wolf, Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will speak on "Happiness, Meaningfulness and the Meaning of Life" in a first of a series titled "Well-being," sponsored by the Department of Philosophy at Amherst College and the Forry and Micken Fund in Philosophy and Science. Discover those secrets of life and more. (Thurs., Dec. 2 at 4:30 p.m., Pruyne Lecture Hall. No admission charge.)
Tickle your funny bone and forget the drudgery of the week ahead by catching the live performance of Steve Hofstetter, comedian and writer for collegehumor.com. Come to hear his hilarious routine or to buy a copy of his book "Student Body Shots." (Sun., Dec. 5 at 7 p.m., Front Room, Keefe Campus Center. No admission charge.)
Editors' Movie Rental of the Week
Watch out for the DVD release of "Spider-man 2"! In the sequel to the highly popular first edition, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) finds himself still struggling with his secret identity as the web-slinging superhero. His relationships with the people around him have deteriorated as his crime-fighting lifestyle takes a toll on him physically and emotionally. A more formidable villain appears in the shape of former brilliant scientist Otto Octavius, now transformed into the muti-tentacled menace Doc Ock. Both the fullscreen and widescreen editions of the DVD will include a groundbreaking behind-the-scenes look at the definitive Pier sequence from multiple angles, and-of particular interest to comic buffs-a comic-to-silver-screen assessment of Doc Ock.