Friday, October 10, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The end is near?

William Miller was a major influence on American religious history, but he also is either overlooked or misunderstood. Who was this man who became convinced that the Second Coming of Christ would occur in his lifetime? Dr. David Rowe, MTSU history professor, is the author of God’s Strange Work: William Miller and the End of the World, a new biography that places the Adventist in the context of his times. Rowe will talk about the book at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Oct. 12, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

The gospel truth

Local gospel choirs who want to reach a wider audience are invited to try out for a role in a new independent movie, “The New, True Charlie Wu,” written and directed by Dr. Bob Pondillo, professor of electronic media communication at MTSU. Auditions are slated for Monday, Oct. 20, Wednesday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 24 from 6-10 p.m. each evening in Studio C on the first floor of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building. “We’re looking for exciting, uptempo, soulful singers who can project a lot of energy,” Pondillo says. Pondillo is the creative force behind three independent award-winning short films, two of which were accepted at the internationally prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France.

To make an appointment for an audition or for more information, contact Veronica Privett at 615-752-7024.

A word is worth a thousand pictures.

“4 Women 4 Views with Text,” a new art exhibition in MTSU’s James E. Walker Library, features the creativity of three MTSU professors and an MTSU graduate in combining visual and verbal elements, treating visitors to an experience that is at once visceral and intellectual. The works of Assistant Professors Noel Lorson and Kim Dummons, Professor Janet Higgins and alumna Nance Cooley will remain on display through Thursday, Nov. 13, in the Special Collections area on the fourth floor of the library. Viewing is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Susan Hanson, a specialist with the library says the works on display are individual entities that emerged from the creative spark of the collaborative experience. “It starts with a word, and it begins to take on a life of its own,” Hanson says.

Contact Hanson at 615-904-8503.
shanson@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

NO NEED FOR THE TIM RUSSERT MEMORIAL DRY ERASE BOARD (FLORIDA! FLORIDA! FLORIDA!)—MTSU students will prepare and broadcast their own election night roundup live on MTTV, Channel 10, from 8 p.m. to 11 or possibly later, on Election Night, Tuesday, Nov. 4, depending on how close the tallies are. “It becomes more than just an organizational exercise, which is important,” says Dr. Bob Pondillo, who teaches “Electronic Media Production: Election Night News Coverage.” “However, it’s one thing to know how to make great television, but it’s quite another to know how to engage the community.” Although arrangements are subject to revision at a moment’s notice depending on the circumstances, the class is planning on three bases for live shots. The percentages in each race will be displayed at the bottom of the television screen through a black box Associated Press interface device. Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465 or pondillo@mtsu.edu.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER--“Pulled Resources,” a sculptural collaborative by artists Dan DeZarn and Thomas H. Sturgill, is on display now through Friday, Oct. 17, at MTSU’s Todd Gallery. The artists have a shared interest in exploring the concerns of contemporary human culture. In the past, they have focused on material usage, commodity, nature and people, and how those ideas intersect, says Eric V. Snyder, gallery curator. “They quickly found that they could construct impressively large, labor-intensive projects in relatively short periods of time and with fairly modest budgets,” Snyder says. Located on the first floor of MTSU’s Todd Building, the Todd Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and closed on all state holidays. Admission is free. Exhibits are open to the public. Contact Snyder at 615-898-5653 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.