Here's what's going on this week:
Thursday, October 31

• Tonight at 8 p.m., the Dryden will screen House of Usher (Roger Corman, U.S. 1960, 79 min., 35mm).
  

  Corman's first Edgar Allen Poe adaptation stars Vincent Price as the ghoulish Roderick Usher and marks the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship between Corman, Poe, and Price. With only slight deviations from the original story, House of Usher captures the distinctively macabre tone of Poe's fiction and finds Corman making a giant leap forward as a director with its lush, haunting art direction and fiendishly colorful 'scope cinematography.

  [source: Dryden website, 2013-Oct-28]

Friday, November 1

• Angela Shelton will be present at a luncheon at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
  

  Please save the date for our annual luncheon, featuring American screenwriter, actress and documentary film producer best known for her documentary Searching for Angela Shelton, an in-depth look at sexual abuse and domestic violence.

  [source: Planned Parenthood flyer, 2013-Aug-11]

• Today at 1 p.m., John W. Borek presents Swimming To … at the MuCCC.
  

  I've never been suicidal. I think once when I was around 21, I thought of taking a few extra aspirin, but other than that pain-relieving impulse, I've never experienced the anguish of wanting Not to live. I've experienced failure and rejection, been lovelorn and mocked, lost jobs and businesses, watched loved ones die and suffered my own terrible and botched cancer diagnosis, but I've never wanted to throw myself into a deep, silent body of water or down a stairwell, slice my wrist in a bathtub or over a sink, vent exhaust fumes into my car, hang myself, or shoot myself in the head or anywhere else. My day may yet come. Pain and despair may yet drive me to some unforeseen conclusion; but as I grow older, and I am already old, I realize that despair, sadness, and isolation are indeed the grand bargain. You get to live, but only occasionally with happiness.This show is cobbled together from memoirs, biographies, obituaries and sociological studies that have tried to make sense of why people of unearthly talent find life on earth unbearable. This show is dedicated to Spalding Grey. I met him once. I'll tell you the story.

  [source: MuCCC website, 2013-Oct-28]

• This evening at 6 p.m. at the Record Archive is the Opening Reception for Altered States of Rochester by Darren Thomas Brennessel, "a Neo-colorist series of paintings" along with a performance by LSD Enigma. [source: Record Archive e-mail, 2013-Oct-1]
• Today from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Spectrum Gallery at Lumiere Photo (100 College Ave.) is an Opening Artist Reception for LAND(LANDSCAPES)SCAPES by Joan Lyons, on display through November 30. [source: VSW e-mail, 2013-Oct-30]
• Tonight from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Writers and Books is the NaNoWriMo Kick-Off.
  

  Celebrate the beginning, middle, and end of National Novel Writing Month by meeting other participants, discussing novel strategies, and writing, writing, writing! You'll also go home with a packet of tips and a free coffee/tea card for Writers and Books for the month of November.

  [source: Writers and Books website, 2013-Oct-28]

• During/afterward, at 7 p.m. at Writers and Books is First Fridays / Wide Open Mic hosted by Norm Davis. [source: Writers and Books website, 2013-Oct-28]
• The Dryden will screen The Intruder (Roger Corman, U.S. 1962, 84 min., 35mm) tonight at 8 p.m.
  

  William Shatner stars as Adam Cramer, an enigmatic figure who travels to the Southern town of Caxton with the intention of disrupting its court-ordered school integration. Unabashedly racist and emotionally manipulative, Cramer first attempts to incite the townspeople through political persuasion, yet his machinations soon give way to increasingly terrifying acts of violence. As his influence spirals out of control, the victims of Cramer's hatred attempt to take a stand. Released during the height of the civil rights movement and filmed on location in Missouri, Corman's drama offers a raw perspective on American racism.

  [source: Dryden website, 2013-Oct-28]

Saturday, November 2

• Today and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Rochester Main Street Armory is the Mayday Underground Crafts + Art Show and Sale.
  

  There will be Free swag bags for the first 25 shoppers each day, filled with awesome goodies from our Mayday vendors! Bring a Mayday postcard from around town and you'll get a raffle ticket for a chance to win handmade awesomeness!

  [source: Mayday Underground Crafts + Art WordPress blog, 2013-Oct-28]

• Today at 2 p.m. is a screening of Comfort Zone (Kate Kressmann-Kehoe, Sean P. Donnelly, Dave Danesh, 2013, U.S., 70 min.) in the Kate Gleason Auditorium of the Bausch and Lomb Library Building along with a discussion titled Follow the Money: Costs and Opportunities from Climate Change in Rochester. (I reviewed Comfort Zone in February.)
  

  The program will begin with a screening of 'Comfort Zone,' a locally-created documentary on what is at stake when we try to translate the global problem of climate change to our individual lives. Following the documentary, a panel of experts will discuss climate change in the context of business opportunities, profitability and competitiveness of being green, benefits of sustainability, and opportunities for improved public health and social justice. Panelists are: Bob Bechtold, President, Harbec Plastics; Enid Cardinal, Senior Sustainability Advisor, Rochester Institute of Technology; Colleen Fogarty, Md, Family Physician with the University of Rochester Medical Center, masters degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics; Ted O'Brien, New York State Senator, member of Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business Committee and Science, Technology, Incubation and Entrepreneurship Committee.

  [source: Monroe County Library website, 2013-Oct-28]

• Today and tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in the NextStage at Geva is a Young Writers Showcase.
  

  In the spring, Geva presented staged readings of several short plays written by Rochester area writers, ages 13-18. Those plays were then given to local theatre companies, who have rehearsed over the summer for presentation in the festival. By offering this opportunity to the young writer, we expand their understanding of the process of moving a play from page to stage. By participating in a full production, by aligning with local artists, and by having the chance to rewrite their work after hearing a reading for an audience, the writer is able to learn more about the attributes of his/her script and about the collaborative creative process.

  [source: Geva Theatre ticket website, 2013-Oct-28]

• Today at the Flying Squirrel from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. is a Day of Celebration and Education on the Liberation of Assata Shakur. [source: Flying Squirrel website, 2013-Oct-28]
• Tonight at 8 p.m. in the Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman House, Roger Corman is to receive George Eastman Award.
  

  The museum will honor Academy Award® winner Roger Corman on Saturday, Nov. 2, as the 68th recipient of the George Eastman Award, the museum's highest honor in motion pictures. "We are proud and honored to recognize Roger Corman's outstanding contribution to the art of film," said Paolo Cherchi Usai, senior curator of motion pictures, George Eastman House. "We are doing so as a long overdue tribute to a true master of cinema—a master in the literal sense of the term. As a producer and director, Corman has forever changed the landscape of American independent cinema, which is why he amply deserves the George Eastman Award."

  [source: Eastman House calendar, 2013-Oct-28]

Sunday, November 3

• Today from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Flying Squirrel is a Brunch Fundraiser: Help feed the Squirrel with tofu scramble, vegan pancakes, vegan home-fries/potatoes, egg bake, vegan stuffed french toast, oatmeal, juice, and coffee by the Coffee Connection. [source: Flying Squirrel website, 2013-Oct-28]
• At Boulder Coffee on Park Ave. starting around 8:30 p.m. is the ethereal, meditative, synthesized soundscapes of Eric the Taylor. [source: Boulder Coffee calendar, 2013-Oct-28]
• Darlingside, Heather Maloney, The Whale and The Warbler and White Woods perform at the Bug Jar tonight starting around 9 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2013-Oct-28]

Monday, November 4

• Tonight starting around 10 p.m. is Monday Night Raw: open mic comedy hosted by Uncle Trent at Banzai Sushi and Cocktail Bar. [source: City Newspaper events calendar, 2013-Oct-28]

Tuesday, November 5

• Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Little is a special screening of After Tiller (Martha Shane, Lana Wilson, U.S. 2013, 85 min.) sponsored by Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region, and with a post-screening discussion with Dr. Rachael Phelps, Medical Director of Planned Parenthood, and other medical professionals.
  

  After Tiller intimately explores the highly controversial subject of third-trimester abortions in the wake of the 2009 assassination of practitioner Dr. George Tiller. The procedure is now performed by only four doctors in the United States, all former colleagues of Dr. Tiller, who risk their lives every day in the name of their unwavering commitment toward their patients. Directors Martha Shane and Lana Wilson have created a moving and unique look at one of the most incendiary topics of our time, and they've done so in an informative, thought-provoking, and compassionate way.

  [source: Little Theatre website, 2013-Oct-21]

• Tonight at 8 p.m. the Dryden will screen Daybreak (Tian Ming, Yu Sun, China, 1933, 116 min., 35mm) with spoken translation of Mandarin intertitles, and live piano accompaniment by Philip C. Carli.
  

  The Chinese film industry was as advanced as any by the late 1920s, and they made silents well into the 1930s. Director Yu Sun's Daybreak, made at a time when Chinese society as a whole was rapidly changing, is a tale of a fishing village girl (brilliantly played by Yu Sun's favorite actress Li-li Li) plunged from an honest life into the seamy underbelly of Shanghai's red-light district. Cynically using the society that has seized her, she works to raise herself in the world and become a leader for the oppressed. Powerful acting and brilliant photography make Daybreak an engrossing and moving experience.

  [source: Dryden website, 2013-Oct-28]

Wednesday, November 6

• The Inner Loop East Open House will have an Afternoon Session from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and an Evening Session from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Manhattan Square Lodge in Manhattan Square Park (353 Court St.) "The City's Inner Loop East Design Team will present preliminary design alternatives for the roughly 2/3-mile stretch of the Inner Loop roughly between Broadway and Charlotte Street. This section of the Inner Loop will be transformed into a high quality at-grade city street lined with new, mixed-use development on land created by removal of the sunken expressway." [source: City of Rochester website, 2013-Oct-30]
• The Eastman Wind Ensemble and Eastman Musica Nova perform in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre tonight at 8 p.m. [source: Eastman School of Music calendar, 2013-Oct-28]
• The Dryden will screen Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir (Laurent Bouzereau, U.K. 2011, 94 min., Blu-ray) starting early at 7 p.m. for the Polish Film Festival Opening Night.
  

  This documentary tells the story of Roman Polanski's life, beginning with his childhood in the Krakow ghetto—covering his first films in Poland, his move to Paris, the Oscar win for The Pianist, the tragedy of the murder of his pregnant wife Sharon Tate in Los Angeles, and the controversy surrounding his arrest in 1977—through to his work and life today in France with his wife Emmanuelle Seigner. The conversations were recorded during Polanski's stay in his home in Gstaad where he was under house arrest for several months after he was apprehended on his way to the Zurich Film Festival in 2009.

  [source: Dryden website, 2013-Oct-28]

• B-Free, Cammy Enaharo, and Kurt Andrew perform at the Bug Jar tonight starting around 9 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar, 2013-Oct-28]