Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 07.14.05

We've got two words for you about Actors Cabaret's new production, the Oregon premiere ofThe Underpants: Steve Martin. The comedian has taken Carl Sterheim's Die Hose, a 1910 comedy that was shunned for being immoral, and turned it into a laugh-out-loud farce, an "over-the-top look at feminism, politics, sexism, the proverbial 15 minutes of fame and sex in general," according to the press release. And all because of a flash of a lady's undergarments. Wait a sec … this was originally written in 1910? And to think we were under the impression things had changed since then! See Friday Calendar.

There was a time when it seemed like we couldn't go anywhere without seeing someone reading Inga Muscio's Cunt: A Declaration of Independence. Women in cafés, women walking down the sidewalk, women extolling the book's virtues to other women … it was really something else. Customer reviews on amazon.com tend to a similar theme: This book is astonishing, powerful, amazing, and I couldn't put it down. You must read it. Muscio (pictured at right) has just come out with her second book, Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Culture, and she'll read from both titles at Mother Kali's. See Thursday, July 21 Calendar.

It's like Christmas in the summertime: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in J.K. Rowling's unbelievably popular series, hits shelves at 12:01 Saturday morning — that's midnight Friday to most of us. Barnes & Noble, Borders Books and the UO Bookstore are all hosting midnight parties for those happy younguns (and not-so-younguns) who can't wait 'til morning for the next installment, while Books Without Borders offers a Wizarding Festival Saturday afternoon. We remember when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out; we were at a library conference, and saw a girl sitting on the floor not 24 hours later, pages from the end. Astonishing, yes, but also understandable. We'd sit on the floor reading all day too, if people didn't seem to think we had better things to do. With that in mind, we issue this reminder: Don't be a spoiler! If you tell us what happens before we get to page 672, we'll cry. Seriously. See Calendar.

What would Leonardo da Vinci think if he knew that almost 500 years after his death, the Mona Lisa had become one of the most famous paintings in the world, there was a best-selling novel with his name in the title, and the town of Corvallis was holding an annual art and science festival in his honor? Leonardo was a talented painter, scientist and inventor, and Corvallis' annual three-day da Vinci Days honors the legacy of this fascinating character through art, music and science. Hans Queisser of the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, Germany, will give the keynote address, "Harmony and Order: Art and the Sciences," at 7 pm Saturday. The Build Your Own Robot Workshop is Saturday and Sunday, along with the Western Allied Robotics & Antbotica Tournament, featuring robot battles. Art aficionados can view totem poles, participate in mask making workshops and learn about the "Golden Ratio," or "The Measure of Life." The Kinetic Sculpture Race happens over all three days through 10 miles of city streets, a sand dune, a clay pasture, mud and 2 miles of the Willamette River. Music acts include Tom Rigney and Flambeau, The Shanghai Woolies, and the festival even has its own poetry slam Saturday afternoon. See Corvallis Events calendar, and check www.davinci-days.orgfor updated information on the festival. — Ursula Evans-Heritage