Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: week of Nov. 19

Events through Thanksgiving day

Published

16 years ago

November 18, 2010

Juliette Ebner

DJ Paul Oakenfold spins at Club 9:30 Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Paul Oakenfold)

Friday, Nov. 19

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) will be holding an opening reception today for Body Scapes, an art exhibit by local artist, Bill Travis from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 5.

Lace Lounge (2214 Rhode Island Ave., N.E.) will be celebrating its two year anniversary this weekend. Tonight is Pink Friday. There will be a “crazy shoe game” contest, painted body models, surprise open bars and more. Visit lacedc.com for more information.

The 23rd annual Washington Craft Show opens today at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from 10 a.m to 8 p.m. This events features 190 of the nation’s top craft artists. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $13 for senior, $8 for students and children under 12 are admitted for free. Kelly Conway, curator of glass at the Chrysler Museum of Art will be leading a panel discussion with Matthew Fine, Charles Savoie and Tim Tate at 1 p.m. Libby Mijanovich will present “Transformation: Creating Contemporary ‘Green’ Art from Vintage Clothing” at 3 p.m.

Erotica Productions and Breeze of “Sex is a Breeze” present “Sexxxhibition: the Medical Fetish Edition” at the Warehouse Loft (411 New York Ave., N.E.) from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Advance tickets are $20 and can be purchased at sexxxhibition6.eventbrite.com. Tickets at the door are $25 for those in costume/fetish wear and $30 for those in street clothes before 1 a.m.

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) will be holding a workshop for those who have experienced the death of a loved one in the past year today from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The workshop will include discussions of strategies for coping with grief and loss during the holiday season.

The blog True Genius Requires Insanity is hosting “All Girl Everything: A Happy Hour to Support Rock D.C.” at the U Street Music Hall (1115 U St., N.W.) today from 5 to 10 p.m. All proceeds from the bar will go directly to the organization. DJs Natty Boom and vAnniety Kills will be spinning hits by female artists. To find out more about the organization, visit girlsrockdc.org.

DJs K La Rock and Junebullet will be providing music at Wet Girls at Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Hearts Club (1103 Bladensburg Rd., N.E.) from 9:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. This is a free event for those 21 and over.

Women is their 30s will be holding a discussion meeting tonight at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 20

Unity Fellowship Church, D.C. will be having its annual gospel concert, “Sounds of Zion Choir” tonight from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Luther Place Memorial Church (1226 Vermont Ave., N.W.). The choir will be under the direction of Professor David Rogers and will feature a special presentation by Johnny Sabbat. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by contacting the church at 202-246-6299 or e-mailing [email protected].

Balls returns to Velvet Lounge (915 U St., N.W.) tonight with Troll Tax, the Coolots, Tayisha Busay and DJs Junebullet of She.Rex, Zack Rosen of Homo/Sonic and Joshua of Gay Bash. Doors open at 9 p.m. and there is a $8 cover. This is a 21-and-older event.

The 23rd annual Washington Craft Show continues today at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from 10 a.m to 6 p.m. This events features 190 of the nation’s top craft artists. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $13 for senior, $8 for students and children under 12 are admitted for free. Bob Devers from the ceramics department at the Corcoran School of Arts will lead a panel discussion with leading experts in the field of American fine craft at 1 p.m. Nancy Kubale will present “The Human Condition in Clay” at 3 p.m.

Lace Lounge’s (2214 Rhode Island Ave., N.E.) two year anniversary celebration continues tonight with the “All Black Everything” Affair. There will be complimentary champagne fountains and dinner buffet. All black attire highly recommended. This event starts at 9 p.m. Visit lacedc.com for more information.

MIXTAPE D.C. is tonight at the old EFN Lounge space (1318 9th St., N.W.) from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. MIXTAPE is a dance party for queer music lovers and their pals that features DJs Shea Van Horn and Matt Bailer playing an eclectic mix of electro, alt-pop, indie rock, house, disco, new wave and anything else danceable. $5 cover for 21 and over.

Sunday, Nov. 21

Lace Lounge’s two year anniversary celebration ends tonight with “Lyrics and Lace,” an open mic, live entertainment exhibition. Appetizers will be half off and there will be drink specials. The Coolats band will be performing an the show starts at 8 p.m. E-mail [email protected] to perform. Visit lacedc.com for more information.

Cherry Blossom Bombshells and the Scare Force One will be competing today at the D.C. Armory (2001 E. Capitol St., S.E.). Tickets are $12 for general admission, $6 for children 6 through 11, and children under 6 will be admitted free. Tickets are available at the door or can be purchased in advanced. Doors open at 3 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit dcrollergirls.com.

Alvin Jackson, pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church in New York City, will be a guest preacher at Michigan Park Christian Church (1600 Taylor St., N.E.) today for the 10 a.m. morning worship service.

Monday, Nov. 22

The 2010 annual Electronic Media and Film Fall Film Series presents films about the relationship between math, sciences and storytelling. This week’s film is “Good Will Hunting” starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in the Van Bokklen Hall Auditorium at Towson University at 7:30 p.m. This is a free event.

Tuesday, Nov. 23

Paul Oakenfold will be at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) tonight with Chuckie and Nervo. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at 930.com.

Nellie’s will be having its weekly “Glee” watch party on the roof deck tonight at 8 p.m. featuring $3 Nellie Beer all night.

Wednesday, Nov. 24

Omega will hosts its weekly pool tournament tonight. First place wins a $50 bar tab and second place wins a $25 bar tab. Shirtless men drink free on both floors from 10 to 11 p.m. The Men of Omega perform at 10 p.m. Doors open at 4 p.m.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) will be hosting its weekly karaoke party tonight at 9 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 25

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers will be having its eighth annual “Clear OUT Your Closets” Thanksgiving clothing drive for the homeless and needy. Clothing drop-off is from 10 a.m. to noon today at Rosemary’s Thyme restaurant’s patio (1801 18th St., N.W.). Clothing distribution will be from noon to 2 p.m.

The film “Burlesque” starring Cher, Christina Aguilera and Alan Cumming opens nationwide today.

Books

New book reveals what we can learn from animal sex

‘Poking the Squid’ on homosexuality, gender swapping, and more

Published

3 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy W.W. Norton)

‘Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn from Animal Sex’
By Perrin Roosevelt Ireland
c.2026, W.W. Norton
$29.99 241 pages

Birds do it.

According to Cole Porter, bees do, too, but it’s not exactly what he imagined. Wild and tame, avians, insects, and mammals all have sex – although not always as you’ve been told or for reasons you might think. Even educated fleas do it and, as in the new book, “Poking the Squid” by Perrin Roosevelt Ireland, humans can learn from them all.

If you read through scientific papers on animal reproduction, you might notice something unusual: for scientists, the word “sex” means a lot of different things.

Says Ireland, “It’s used to describe behaviors, biology, life histories, and more.”

That might be because animals are not simply binary.

Take, for instance, hyenas. It’s easy for the casual observer to mistake a male hyena for a female and vice versa because of stereotypes of anatomy. Mating, for hyenas, requires subordination for the male and a nifty trick on the part of the female’s body to get things done.

Our feathered friends are no birdbrains, either: black-browed albatrosses were once thought to be monogamous but global warming seems to have changed their nesting habits sometimes. Male flamingos have sex with one another, as a territorial thing; other birds and animals form same-sex pairs for other reasons.

The Chinese mantis eats her mate after fertilization. Female snakes, alpacas, guinea pigs, and monkeys are anatomically able to enjoy sex. Genitalia between species varies quite a bit; in fact, the vaginas of ducks “are highly complex.” Lionesses will mate up to 100 times when in heat. Female damselflies will change into a “third sex” to avoid overly aggressive mating males. Bearded dragons can change their sex, if needed, as can yellow clown goby fish. And seahorse pregnancy and birth sparked a book banning in Tennessee.

So, asks Ireland, if animals, including us, vary so much in biology and life, “… why are we using the word sex like it means something, anything, consistent?!”

Pick up “Poking the Squid,” page through it a few seconds, and you’ll see that the information here is largely told through cartoon-like drawings mixed with captions. It seems to be something on the lighter side, but don’t let that artwork fool you.

Author Perrin Roosevelt Ireland offers readers solid information that cozies up to the scholarly, with hard science, philosophy, feminism, and quotations from researchers to support it, thus furthering the narrative and hitting the points squarely. If you see the art and expect something lighthearted, comic, and small-talk-worthy, you could be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you want solid, wryly serious facts, you’re in for a treat.

There’s lots of learning to be gleaned here, and some slight nudge-wink whimsy to emphasize the absurdity of wrong-headed thinking. This can make readers feel like they’re in-the-know on the jokes, and the playfulness balances the seriousness of the information well.

So, serious, scholarly, or slightly silly, none of these are negative but you’re going to know what you want from a book like this. For the right reader, someone in the mood, “Poking the Squid” is wild.

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